Forgotten Dreams
by ohdeariemegoodness
Summary: Peter and Charlotte are foster children in a dreary Northern town. What happens when the Cullens decide to move there? How will they react to the teens' living situation? And what is going on with Peter? R&R! Rating for abuse, nothing very explicit.
1. Burrito Day

**AN: omg! it's an actual story! as in, chapters and everything! i'll update as regularly as i can. please let me know if you have any ideas for the story or any suggestions on how to improve my writing. i'll take it all and laugh at the flames. :]**

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Charlotte opened the door cautiously, peeking around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. She saw only blank hallway; that was good. Jack wasn't waiting for her, at least. She crept down the hallway and then the stairs. The carpet felt loud underneath her feet, and every little creak made her flinch. She couldn't get caught leaving. The doctors at the hospital were getting suspicious.

Charlotte let out a small sigh of relief when she finally made it out of the house. Now all that was left was to get Peter out of the shed. He'd forbidden her to come save him last night, but she had to break him out now because there was no way she was going to school without him. Not in a million years. She grabbed the keys out of Jack's car, the ones he didn't think she knew about.

She lay down on the grass and crawled towards the shed, hoping that Jack wouldn't look out an upstairs window. The brass keys cold in her hand, she fumbled with the lock on the shed door. "Hang on, Peter," she whispered. "I'll get you out of there." At last, the lock clicked open. Opening the door and slithering in, she found a shivering Peter sitting on the workbench. "Oh, Charlotte," he murmured, standing up to wrap her in a chilly embrace. "He got you again, didn't he?" Charlotte kept silent. She knew that the new bruises on her face told Peter all he needed to know. Peter let her out of his arms, keeping hold of her hand. They set off on the seven-mile walk to school like they did everyday, trudging through the snow and ignoring the icy chill of the wind.

Walking down the side of the highway, the most dangerous part of their daily journey, Charlotte tripped. She floundered deep into a snow bank, Peter diving in after her. He pulled her out, chuckling at her snow covered form. The white snow all but blended in with her light blonde hair, which fell in loose curls all the way down her back. It was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to her. Pale and delicate, she pulled off the bruises and waif thin form. It made her look like she was suffering from some exotic disease, something both wonderful and terrible at the same time.

The truth, of course, was far from the initial impression she gave. Their stepfather, Jack, wasn't exactly the best caretaker. He hated Peter, whose tan skin and copper tinted hair reminded him the guy his ex-wife ran off with. Jack had taken an especial dislike to Peter recently, locking him in the shed and making Peter watch him hurt Charlotte. Peter had done all he could to stop Jack, but it just wasn't enough. Jack was a monster of a man, and all the weight training and stolen food hadn't done much more than make girls pay attention to Peter.

Just thinking about it made him furious. Peter fumed, his eyes turning a disturbing shade of black that always frightened Charlotte a little. She couldn't help but be scared of angry men. Noticing her discomfort, Peter made an effort to lighten up a bit. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her off in the direction of the Campbell High, home of the Fighting Leprechauns.

The wind blew Charlotte's dark blue dress up around her legs, wrapping it around her. Not for the first time, Charlotte wished she owned any clothes besides dresses and skirts. She loved dresses, but when it was cold and windy like this, she wanted pants. Jack, however, wouldn't stand for it. If he caught her in pants… Charlotte didn't want to think about it. She leaned into Peter for support, having trouble pushing through the snow. Peter didn't know it, but she hadn't eaten anything in the past several days. She'd given all of the food she'd found to Peter, telling him she'd already eaten. It was helping Peter, she could tell, but she was getting weak. She would eat something today, or at least tomorrow. She didn't want Peter to get suspicious. He might be angry.

Stumbling through the doors of the school, Peter and Charlotte dusted the snow off themselves and headed toward Chemistry. As they entered the classroom, Peter noticed something odd. A new girl. She was tiny, with short black hair, and stunningly perfect. By her side was a tall boy, just as perfect but in a different way. They had the same pale skin and golden eyes. The tall one, he realized, was looking at him with a strange expression on his face, hostile and pained at the same time. Peter didn't like it. He pushed Charlotte behind him a bit so that he was in between her and the new boy.

Still staring at the newcomers, Peter guided Charlotte to her seat. "Char," he whispered. "Yes?" Peter grimaced. He hated to be controlling, but… something about the new boy set him on edge. "I don't like the looks of the new guy. Can you just… stay away from him, please? You can talk to the girl if you want. But just not the boy." Charlotte nodded, her bright blue eyes widening as she acquiesced, scooting her chair farther away from the new guy. This was why he hated to ask her to do anything- she treated even the smallest suggestion like a direct order. It wasn't fair to her. He shook his head, wondering if she would ever be able to stand up for herself. He didn't know how to help her.

Charlotte kept her eyes carefully trained on the floor, being careful not to do anything that might draw the attention of the new guy. Peter had said to stay away from him, not to talk to him. Peter might not like it if the new boy took notice of her. She caught a bit of motion in the corner of her eye and looked up to see a note flying over to her. Peter snatched it out of the air and handed it to her. She opened it up.

_Charlotte- get a look at the new guy. His name's Jasper. Isn't he just about the hottest thing you've ever seen? Him and his family moved here over winter break. He's got like a billion siblings. They're all foster kids though. Apparently their dad's a doctor who took a job at the hospital. Dr. Cullen. My mom says he looks like a **god. **And that girl, Alice- I think they're together. Can you say, ewwww. Incest!_

Charlotte laughed a little and showed the note to Peter in case he didn't want her to respond. But after he read it, he handed it back and gave her a pen. So she guessed it was okay to respond. She wrote back to Rachel quickly, glad he let her have friends. She loved Peter, but sometimes it just wasn't the same. She liked being around other people, people who didn't know, sometimes. It was nice.

Second and third period passed quickly, and suddenly it was time for lunch. Charlotte hated lunch. She and Peter never had any food. Their friends always shared, but it was horrible because she knew Peter hated to accept their help. Today was burrito day in the lunch line, though, which was a good thing because she and Peter were the only ones willing to choke down the cafeteria's disgusting version of Mexican food. They racked up six burritos, some chips, and a carton of milk. Charlotte gave Peter everything but one burrito. She'd eat half and save the rest for later tonight, for Peter.

All of a sudden, their table was crowded with four other people. Two more perfect-looking new kids, along with Jasper and Alice, plopped themselves down at the table. Jasper sat beside Charlotte. Charlotte felt a sharp burst of terror. He was right beside her! Charlotte felt her heart racing as her breathing sped up. She started to panic. Peter would be so angry. She leaned into Peter, letting out a little whimper that should have been inaudible. Peter stroked her hair, pressing her to his chest as Alice made Jasper switch seats with her. "Calm down, love," he murmured. "It's okay. I'm not mad, I promise." Charlotte smiled up at him, and he kissed her forehead before setting her upright in her cafeteria seat.

The other kids at the table didn't even notice; they'd been too busy staring at the newcomers. "Hi!" exclaimed Alice, talking only to Charlotte. "I'm Alice." Charlotte smiled. Peter had told her she could talk to Alice. "I'm Charlotte." Alice nodded and grabbed Charlotte's hand. "Come to the bathroom with me! I need to freshen up." Looking to Peter for instructions, she saw him nod. She could go. For some reason, Charlotte found herself liking the little pixie, even though she'd only just met her. She got up and followed behind Alice, watching her dance towards the bathroom.

Peter glared at the lunch table. It was his fault that Charlotte was so scared; she didn't do very well with strange men no matter what, but she'd been terrified of more than just Jasper. He knew that her panic had at least somewhat resulted from his orders earlier. Charlotte knew that Peter would never hurt her, but instinct ran deep. Peter sighed and turned to face Jasper. He'd have to warn him off. "Hey. What was that all about?" The new guy had a Southern twang to his words. It sounded like Texas, maybe. Peter frowned. "What was you sitting by her all about?"

"Alice wanted to sit with you two. Why, I don't know. All I know is that girl had a mini panic attack when I sat down. Wanna tell me what's going on here?"

"Not especially, no."

The new guy snorted. He gave Peter a look that probably should have scared him, but Peter didn't back down.

"Why was she so scared of me, huh? She looked scared of you, too, for a minute there. Are you the reason for all the bruises?"

"She's fine. Just stay away from Charlotte. She doesn't need you scaring her all the time."

Jasper was unsatisfied. A spike of terror like that always had deep-rooted reasons, and he wanted to know what they were. Something about that little blonde girl made him want to save her. It wasn't the boy, though. His feelings didn't say so, at least. He loved her. And she loved him, too, even though she'd been scared of him for a minute. There was something off about the whole situation. And it didn't help that Charlotte was completely covered in bruises, not to mention ridiculously thin and pale. She seemed weak, too. Maybe she should eat more. He didn't like the other boy eating all the food. Obviously there was some abuse going on here. He guessed it was their guardian. A male, considering her responses. Jasper wanted to help these two humans- the girl, at least. Maybe he'd just drain the boy. His scent was mouthwatering. He'd talk to Alice about this later.


	2. Sleeping and Shopping

**AN: Please don't get used to updates this regular. i have a life and three ap classes, so it's not usually going to happen this fast. but i didn't have anything to do today, and i wanted to get this out. so here you go. and review, please! i know people are reading this because my traffic stats are ridiculous. if you don't give me feedback, how will i improve?

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The deep red walls seemed to close in on Charlotte as she frantically searched for a hiding place. Under the desk? In the cupboard? In the closet? No, no, he'd found her there before. Where to hide? Charlotte felt tears run down her face as she heard the unmistakable sound of boots stomping up the stairs. Jack was coming for her, and there was no where to hide. The door slammed open and there he was, leering, his eyes all over her. Charlotte backed against the wall, into a corner. She could smell the alcohol on his breath as he advanced toward her. He gave a cruel laugh as he reached out for her. "Come to Daddy, Charlotte."

Charlotte's eyes shot open. She was gasping for breath, her face soaked in tears. Peter woke up at the same time, instinctively gathering her closer to himself and sitting up. The floor was hard and cold beneath them, but at least out in the garage, there was less chance that Jack would come find them in the middle of the night. Charlotte whimpered a bit, shaking in his arms. Peter growled, livid. How could someone hurt a child, especially one as perfect and innocent as Charlotte? He wanted nothing more than to march into the house and rip Jack limb from limb. Every night, Charlotte would wake up from another horrible nightmare about something Jack had done to her, and every night, Peter sat with Charlotte and tried not to do something rash. He wasn't strong enough to take on Jack, not yet, and if Jack broke his arm or leg again, he wouldn't be much help to Charlotte. _Not yet,_ he reminded himself, chanting the phrase in his mind. It wouldn't do for him to lose his temper now, not in front of Charlotte.

Charlotte gave Peter a pleading look. She needed to get out of this house, now. Peter nodded stiffly and got up, pulling Charlotte up with him. She stood back as he unlatched the window, pulling the screen out and dislodging the decorative metal curtain. He lifted her up out of the window and climbed out after her, then put the window back together. That way, Jack wouldn't figure out how they were escaping the garage for a while.

Peter took Charlotte's hand in his and they walked through the neighborhood, watching the early morning light start to come out. At an unspoken agreement between the two, they turned around and started heading for the school. The sun slowly inched over the horizon, filling the air with pale winter light. Peter and Charlotte got to the school long before any cars appeared in the parking lot.

They sat down just outside the gym, leaning against the cool bricks. Charlotte dozed off, her head on Peter's shoulder, but Peter couldn't sleep. He was still mad about earlier. It was getting harder for him to brush things off, to pretend like nothing was happening. But he knew he had to. It was pure chance that he and Charlotte ended up in the same foster home; they were not siblings, so if they were moved out of Jack's house, they wouldn't be kept together. And Peter knew that without him, Charlotte would fall apart. He was the glue that held her together, the struts that propped her up. They couldn't be separated. What if Charlotte ended up with another Jack, but without Peter to protect her? He didn't want to think about it.

Peter turned his attention to the forest surrounding the school. The pine trees were dark green, snow laden branches glistening in the sun. He'd always loved the smell of pine, but these trees seemed to be especially potent; he could smell them from all the way over here. Looking over at Charlotte, he realized she was shivering. That was funny; he wasn't even cold. He lifted her into his lap, trying to keep from jostling her too much, and wrapped his arms around her. Hopefully that would warm her up a bit. She was probably so cold because she was so thin.

A snowflake drifted down, falling onto Charlotte's cheek. Gently, Peter wiped it off. He marveled at her porcelain skin, her silken hair. Her eyelashes were dark and long, a contrast to the almost silvery color of her hair. Peter couldn't admit it, but he was in love with her. She was what kept him going. And he could never tell her, because then he'd be taking away her chance to find love on her own, to have a relationship with someone she picked out. If he told her how he felt, she'd be sure to take that as an order, and he would never know if she truly felt the same way. But oh, how he longed to give in, to kiss those red, inviting lips, to bury his hands in her long hair…

Peter shook his head fiercely, trying to clear his mind of such improper thoughts. He couldn't think about Charlotte that way. Shouldn't. Looking up, he realized that the first few cars had started to pull up. He gently shook Charlotte awake, pulling her up to her feet. They headed inside the science building, toward the Chemistry classroom. The room was silent when they walked in; they were the only people in it. Peter steered Charlotte toward their seats, setting her down into hers. She fell back asleep the moment she was no longer standing, and only Peter's quick reflexes stopped her head from slamming onto the tabletop.

Peter ran his fingers through her hair, and up and down her back. Poor Charlotte was exhausted; her nightmare hadn't let her get much sleep. Suddenly, something made the hairs on the back of Peter's neck prickle. He whipped around to find himself face to face with the new guy. Peter stood up, eyes tightening. "What do you want?" Jasper just motioned for him to come over to the other side of the room. With a quick glance at Charlotte, to make sure she was still sleeping, Peter gave a brusque nod and walked over to the lab tables.

Jasper followed, noiseless and strangely graceful, like a panther, or a wolf. "I know what's going on," he announced. "I know what things are like with Jack." For a second, Peter could do nothing but stand silent, shocked. Quickly, though, he recovered. "I don't know what you're talking about. Jack is great." Peter choked a little over the last words, but he got them out. Jasper just rolled his eyes. "Don't lie to me, boy. You can't fool me that easily." Peter glared at Jasper. He and Charlotte were just fine on their own. They couldn't be separated! He wouldn't allow it. Peter felt nothing but determination as he stared Jasper down. No random new guy was just going to come out of nowhere and steal his Charlotte. "Back off, newbie. We don't need your help. If you meddle, you'll just make things worse. So just forget about all this. And stay away from Charlotte." With that, Peter stomped back to where Charlotte sat, still sleeping peacefully.

Peter didn't receive any alone time with his thoughts, though, because the moment he sat down, Alice plopped down right next to him. "Hey Peter! Why is Charlotte sleeping?" Peter smiled a little to himself. He really didn't like Jasper, but little Alice was just so cute and bubbly. He couldn't help but like her, at least a little. "She had a bad dream and couldn't sleep last night. So she's making up for it during school." Alice just nodded understandingly. "You know what she needs to make her feel better? She needs a shopping trip! I'll take you two today after school. Don't worry about Jack- his drinking buddies are going to keep him distracted so late he won't notice you're gone. Promise." Peter frowned a bit; obviously Jasper had told Alice his suspicions. "How do you know?"

"I just do. Money makes friends, you know."

Peter sighed but gave in. Charlotte would love to go shopping with Alice, and so he'd suck it up and go with. "Okay. But only if we can stay the night at your house. I don't want to risk sneaking in." _And it would do her some good to sleep in a bed for once,_ he added mentally. Alice's face lit up, and she gave Peter a hug. "Thank you! It's going to be so much fun!"

The rest of the day passed in a blur; Charlotte slept through every class, while Peter spent the entire day worrying about what Alice and Jasper knew. When the final bell rang, he woke up Charlotte and they headed toward the parking lot. After her six-periods-plus-lunch-long nap, she was looking and feeling refreshed. Peter decided to inform her of their after-school plans. "So. We're going shopping today after school with Alice." Charlotte gasped. "Really?" she exclaimed. "Yes, really," chuckled Peter. Charlotte gave a little squeak of happiness, dancing around the hallway. Alice came out of nowhere and joined her, grasping her hands. Peter stood back, surveying the scene with affection. It'd been so long since Charlotte had gotten to do anything even remotely fun. He was glad he'd decided to let her go shopping.

Alice climbed into the backseat of a yellow Porsche 911 Turbo with Charlotte, and motioned for Peter to sit in the passenger seat. "Jasper will be here in a second. He went to tell Rose and Emmett that we're not gonna be riding with them today." Peter didn't like being separated from Charlotte like this, and he especially didn't like the idea of being cooped up in a car with Jasper. But shopping would make Charlotte happy, he knew, so he kept quiet. The two girls chattered happily in the backseat, discussing the latest styles in silver ballet flats or some such nonsense. Peter rolled his eyes. Girls.

Finally, Jasper slid into the driver's seat and started up the car. Peter closed his eyes as he listened to the purr of the motor. He would kill for a car like this. Cracking his eyelids just a bit, Peter took a peek at the speedometer. 140 mph. And the car wasn't even complaining. Wow.

They were at the mall in no time, thanks to Jasper's ridiculous driving. Alice and Charlotte headed straight for some store that looked pink and frilly and distinctly un-masculine. Peter groaned at the same time Jasper did. Peter looked at Jasper and surprise; he wasn't sure how he felt about having anything in common with the tall newcomer. However, a little exclamation of delight from Charlotte got his attention and he promptly forgot about his irritation. Charlotte was holding up what looked to be a neon yellow tutu. "Um… Char? Are you sure you want that?" Charlotte burst into laughter. "Just kidding! What do you think about this?" She held up something for him to see. It was a deep green, fairly short dress. "It's pretty, I guess…" Charlotte beamed. "I'll try it on for you!" She and Alice disappeared into the dressing rooms, their arms piled high with clothes. Peter sat down in a chair. This was going to take a while.

Peter was pretty sure that the girls had tried on every single article of clothing to be found in the store. And he'd had to ooh and aah at every last one. Finally, Alice announced that Charlotte was ready to show them the very last dress. Charlotte stepped out of the dressing room shyly, and Alice gave her a little push. Peter's jaw dropped a bit. She was gorgeous. Her confidence restored, Charlotte twirled around a bit.

Alice grinned. She'd picked the perfect dress. Charlotte's dress came to mid thigh, but it didn't look indecent. It had long sleeves, and delicate silver beading on the shoulders, which continued down the arms and one side, falling into the skirt. It was a beautiful dark blue, almost black, which made her blonde hair really stand out. The skirt of the dress was layered tulle, a contrast to the silk of the top. Alice felt a sigh of contentment escape her lips. She was going to buy Charlotte an entire wardrobe, of course, but this dress was a definite.

Alice had seen that this shopping trip would make a huge difference. Charlotte would feel so much more confident in her new clothes, confident enough to consider standing up to Jack for the first time in years. She wouldn't, of course, but sometimes it really was the thought that counted. And this trip would improve the relationship between Jasper and Peter, too. That would be absolutely vital to what she saw happening in the future. Taking all of Charlotte's new clothes to the register, Alice thought about the upcoming sleepover. What she'd seen was… disturbing. Worrying. But she thought that it would turn out for the best.


	3. Night Monsters

**AN: enjoy! this was a hard chapter to write, but i finally got it out. as always, r&r! :]**

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Jasper pulled the car into the driveway, its trunk laden with what probably amounted to an entire store's worth of clothing. And all for one girl. Jasper rolled his eyes at Alice's antics; she was so adorable when she got excited about things like this. It was just another one of the million things about her that he'd fallen in love with. The car rolled to a stop, looking a bit too futuristic beside the Cullen mansion. The house seemed to have come straight out of an old Southern plantation, white and stately, with huge columns in the front. There was a large balcony above the doorway, and a deep porch around the front of the house. There was a set of stairs leading up to the entranceway, the stone steps carved with angels, flowers, and vines. The house had three stories, and huge latticed windows, and the same intricate carving in the doors.

Charlotte and Peter were taken aback by the grandeur of the mansion, but Alice pushed them out of the car and led them into the house. The front doors opened to a cavernous entryway. To the left, a gleaming staircase curved towards the upper levels; to the right, a dining room was set off from the rest of the house by a curving wall. The curving wall led to a kitchen, filled with brand-new, gleaming appliances. A grand piano loomed, close to the end of the curved wall, but directly in line with the doors. Couches, chairs, and end tables filled the rest of the first floor, clusters littering the marble tiles in front of the fireplace. Charlotte was awestruck. She'd never seen such splendor in her life- Jack wasn't exactly rich. Or even middle class.

Alice stood beside Charlotte and Peter, grinning. Their reaction was priceless, and even better in person than it had been in her vision. "Come on, you two! Come meet my parents, Carlisle and Esme." She guided them towards the fireplace, where Carlisle and Esme were reclining in a loveseat. As they approached, the two smoothly got to their feet, a wide smile on Esme's face. Alice introduced them. "These are Esme and Carlisle. Esme, Carlisle- Charlotte and Peter." Carlisle shook both of their hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Esme, however, was a bit more affectionate, roping the two into a big hug. "I'm so glad to meet you! Let me know if you need anything, okay? I've got dinner ready for you right now." With that, she grabbed their hands and took them into the dining room.

"I'm afraid we've already eaten- we didn't know we'd be having company until just recently. But I made some more food for you. Eat up!" On the dining room table, Esme had laid out steaming dishes of pasta, with two different sauces, and fresh bread. "I'll get started on dessert while you eat." Charlotte and Peter eyed the feast greedily, their nutrient-starved bodies hungry for anything. Charlotte quickly fixed two equally sized plates for herself and Peter. Knowing that Peter was always hungrier and could probably everything that was on the table, though, Charlotte scraped exactly half of her food onto Peter's plate.

Alice did not miss the way Charlotte sacrificed half her food to her brother, and she didn't like it. Charlotte was too submissive. How could she and Peter ever cultivate a true relationship when Charlotte was a ghost of a person? She'd have to secure Charlotte some time away from Peter. She'd be miserable at first, but… Hopefully it would do good. Suddenly, the dining room disappeared and all Alice could see was a beautiful meadow; then, Charlotte came out of nowhere. She laughed and giggled, apparently playing tag with Emmett. As her vision cleared, Alice pondered on what it meant. She'd had the same vision earlier when she'd decided to let Peter and Charlotte stay the night. Emmett had been in the sun, so obviously Charlotte knew what they were. But that wasn't the strange part. Alice knew for a fact that Charlotte was going to be absolutely terrified of Emmett when she met him. And throughout the rest of the evening. So what had happened to change that?

Charlotte and Peter wolfed down their meals, ravenous. Dessert barely lasted long enough for the two to see what it was. When they were finished, Alice took them up to third level, to the game room. Located just beside Rosalie's room, the game room was a technological paradise. There were computers, televisions, video games, Playstations, X Boxes, a Wii, and, of course, two complete sets of Rock Band. Sitting right in front of the biggest TV were Jasper and one of the other Cullens, playing a game that involved cars and a lot of explosions. As they entered the room, the two turned to greet Alice and her two friends. Charlotte stared. Jasper, she was getting used to, but she'd never seen someone as big as his friend! She vaguely remembered seeing him at lunch one day, but she'd been too distracted to notice his size. Now, however, she was noticing it all to well. The man was huge, and Charlotte was petrified. Any moment now, he could decide to do whatever he pleased to her, and no one would be able to stop him. At first he just stood there, but then he moved toward her. The room started to spin, Charlotte's fear getting a hold of her. She couldn't breathe. Unexpectedly, the terror faded into a deep calm. Charlotte felt like she should be afraid, but the calm wouldn't even let her wonder why she was so relaxed.

Her feelings secure, the big man moved to introduce himself. "Hi, Alice's friend. I'm Emmett. What's your name?" Charlotte couldn't make herself respond, but Peter came to her rescue. "This is Charlotte. And I'm Peter. Sorry; she's a bit shy." Emmett grinned. "That's okay! Would you two like to play?" he asked, holding out his controller to Peter. Charlotte sat silently beside Peter as he played video games with Jasper, Emmett, and even Alice, happy just to be in his presence, with no Jack to ruin the moment. The rest of the evening passed like that.

Peter's thumbs were getting sore from the hours of racing, fighting, and shooting things on the television. Just as he was about to opt out and take Charlotte and himself to bed, Alice announced that it was bedtime. "Come on, you two. You can have my bedroom. I'll sleep with Jasper." Peter chuckled at the innuendo there. It was clear that Alice was ready for some alone time. Scanning the room as he left, Peter wondered what it was about these people. Something made him constantly analyze them as threats, like they might suddenly explode and do something crazy. Even Alice, sometimes. It wasn't that he was scared of them- it was something else. Some deep-rooted instinct, maybe. Or perhaps it was just his upbringing. Either way, he was glad Alice was letting them have their own room. He'd sleep better if he didn't feel like he needed to guard his back so much.

Alice plumped her pillows and got some thick blankets for Peter and Charlotte to use. Humans were delicate; she wanted to make sure they were comfortable. She dashed about the room, making sure nothing was out that would arouse their suspicions. Then she quickly cleaned the bathroom and tried to make it look a little more used. Finally, she called Peter and Charlotte in, showing them where the bathroom was. "If you need anything, I'll be on the ground floor. Or you can just go down the hall to Carlisle's room." Peter nodded, shepherding Charlotte toward the bed. They looked so exhausted, poor things. Alice wanted nothing more than to help them. She glanced back one last time before leaving the room. "I left some clothes for you to sleep in on the bed."

Peter got dressed and helped Charlotte do the same. He had to be so careful with her; she always seemed on the edge of collapse. He feared that one day something would prove to be too much for her, and she would simply crumple to the floor and never get up. He carefully lifted her into the bed, wrapping her in his arms and covering her with blankets, hoping to keep her warm. Charlotte kissed his cheek and murmured goodnight, falling asleep almost instantly afterwards. Peter had a bit more trouble getting to sleep. He didn't like sleeping in a different place; at least at Jack's, he knew what the danger was. Here, the dangers were new and infinite. For a while, Peter gazed out the window at the stars. They were all bright and beautiful, but to him they were no symbols of hope. Wishing on a star had never gotten him anywhere.

When he was very young, when his mother was still alive, she used to tell him that every star was a person who'd died and gone to heaven. He couldn't help but wonder if she was up there, watching him… but he wasn't sure he believed that, anymore. It was hard to have faith when life was so hard. How Charlotte didn't seem to struggle, just blindly trusted, he couldn't see. Not for the first time, Peter wondered what his father believed in. Peter had never met him, didn't know anything about him. All his mother would tell him was that his father was Indian. He didn't even know his last name, because Peter's last name was his mother's- Ivring.

Peter tried to put such depressing thoughts out of his mind. He looked down at Charlotte, fast asleep on his chest. She was smiling; her dreams were good. That made him smile. She'd had nothing but nightmares for a while now. She deserved a break. Peter's thoughts started to cloud, sleep finally overcoming him. His fingers slipped into Charlotte's hair as he drifted off to sleep.

Peter awoke to the sound of screaming. It was coming from somewhere very close by, the shrieks ringing in his ears. Forcing his heavy eyelids open, he realized that the screams were coming from Charlotte. Instantly wakened, he grabbed Charlotte, cradling her to his chest, trying to wake her up. She just kept on sobbing and shaking, screaming like she was being burned alive. Frantic, Peter grasped her shoulders and shook her. "Wake up, Charlotte! Please!" She didn't respond, oblivious to the world around her. "Please," she begged. "Please stop. Please! PLEASE!" More tears came as she writhed in agony. "Peter! Where are you, Peter!? Make it stop!" Peter was sobbing, hot tears rolling down his cheeks as he rocked Charlotte in his arms. She thrashed and shook, crying for Peter to save her, begging Jack to stop. Peter could do nothing but hold her and wait for her dream to stop, swearing to himself that he would die before Jack touched her again.

Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle stood in the doorway, stricken by Charlotte's heart wrenching cries. Esme cringed, her heart going out to the young girl, wishing Edward were here to help them figure out what to do. Finally, she could take no more of it. She rushed to the bedside, Carlisle close behind her. She sat on the bed beside Peter, listening to Charlotte's cries grow more and more desperate, watching her struggles get weaker and weaker. Finally, her thrashing came to a stop. Peter stroked her face gently. "Charlotte," he murmured, his voice ragged. "Please, love. Wake up." His wish was granted; her eyes cracked open. Her nightmare fresh in her mind, Charlotte instantly burst into tears, hiding her face in Peter's chest. She sobbed into his shirt while Peter stroked her back gently. "It's okay, Charlotte. It's okay. I've got you now. It was just a dream."

As Charlotte's sobs slowed, Peter looked up, finally noticing all the people in the room with him. Emmett and the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen were standing at the foot of the bed, looking furious. Alice was leaning into Jasper, looking miserable, as he stroked her hair. Carlisle and Esme were holding hands, sitting on the bed with him. Peter worried how Charlotte would feel about all these people being witness to her pain when she recovered, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He was about to ask someone to turn on the light when Alice floated over to a lamp and turned it on. With the light illuminating the room, Peter could see how horrible Charlotte looked. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face splotchy. Her bruises seemed almost to glow, they were so noticeable against her pale skin.

Standing by the bed, Alice had a sudden vision of Jack. He was advancing on Charlotte, Peter broken and bloody against the wall. He was laughing, taunting Peter as he grabbed Charlotte. "I'm gonna take her slow," he said, "but definitely not gentle." With that, he grabbed two of Charlotte's fingers and brutally snapped them. She cried out and his hands started to pull her dress down. Suddenly, growling sounds erupted from the background, and the vision abruptly went blank. Alice reeled. Jasper steadied her, soothing her emotions and giving her a questioning look. Alice shook her head. They'd discuss this later. Right now, everyone needed to leave the room. She had a feeling that Charlotte's reaction would be bad if she saw them. She ushered the family out, leaving Peter to soothe Charlotte back to sleep.


	4. The Attic

**AN: wow. this chapter is looooooooong. i know i should've broken it up somewhere, but... i just didn't want to. so here you go! :]**

* * *

Weak morning light fell on Peter's face, waking him up. He opened his eyes, marveling at the soft feel of the bed underneath him. It'd been a long time since he'd last slept in a bed. He sat up, gentling moving Charlotte off of his chest and onto a pillow. As he looked down at her, the last night's events came rushing back at him: Charlotte screaming, not being able to wake her up, the Cullen's watching… the Cullen's watching. _Crap. _How was he going to get out of this one? Alice and Jasper already knew, but their parents didn't. What if they told? He and Charlotte would be separated! He stroked her face. "Don't worry, Char. I won't let them. I won't let them take you away from me." Charlotte's eyes inched open, and she looked at him, a small smile on her face. "Peter." He smiled back, and pulled her out of bed. "Come on, let's get dressed. Alice laid out some clothes."

The two got dressed, and as soon as they were finished, Alice popped into the room. "Esme made waffles! Everyone else already ate, but I saved you some." She grabbed Charlotte's hand and led them downstairs to the kitchen. On the dining room table, Esme had once again laid out a veritable feast, this time of waffles. Charlotte fixed Peter a plate, and then made one for herself, giving Peter half as always. They both attacked the food like they hadn't eaten in months. Charlotte finished before Peter, and she took advantage of the quiet to ponder on the night before. She didn't remember too much, just that it had been horrible. And now she felt strangely weak, like even a light breeze could knock her over. Charlotte knew that she had to act like she was fine, though, or Peter would worry. So she didn't say anything.

Esme walked into the room, taking a seat beside Charlotte. "Hey, honey. How are you feeling? Are you okay?" Charlotte just nodded, forcing a weak smile. Thankfully, Esme didn't pry, just looked concerned as she started to clear the table. "Well, alright. Jasper will drive you two to school in just a minute. You can go on out to the car and wait with Alice, if you want." Charlotte felt Peter take her hand, and she got up with him, heading toward the car. Once they were out of earshot, Peter turned to her, worried. "Are you sure you're alright? Last night…" he shook his head, looking miserable. "…you just… it was bad." Charlotte rubbed his arm, trying to soothe him. "I'm fine, really. Sometimes, bad stuff happens. But now it's over. And I'm okay." Peter gave a weak smile, not really looking convinced. Charlotte hugged him and pulled him toward the car, which was waiting for them out in the driveway.

Peter slid into the passenger seat beside Jasper, and Charlotte sat down in the back beside Alice. The ride to school was quiet. By the time they pulled into a parking spot, Peter had made up his mind. Jasper opened the car door for Alice, and Peter opened Charlotte's door for her. But he didn't head to the school with the girls. He motioned to Jasper to wait back at the car with him. Jasper raised an eyebrow. "What?" Peter swallowed. Asking Jasper for help was a real blow to his pride, but for Charlotte… for Charlotte, he'd do anything. "I need to ask you for something." Jasper nodded. "Shoot."

"I need… I need you to take care of Charlotte. If anything happens to me. If you ever see her without me… just take her and run. Back to your house, wherever. I'll tell her not to be afraid of you."

Jasper nodded. "What brought this on?"

"Last night… I know what she's been through. I've never been able to take on Jack. Any attempt to save Charlotte… has just made things worse." Peter's expression was sickened, old memories digging into his mind. "But… I can't let things go on like this. I'm stronger than I was. I've got to do something. I don't know what, yet. But if something happens to me… You've got to save Charlotte. You can't let the system take her again."

Jasper nodded again, an unfathomable expression on his face. "I'll take care of her. But you know she's terrified of me. I may do more harm than good."

"I'll tell her not to be afraid of you. And if you keep Alice with you, she shouldn't be too bad. Without me there, though, she's… volatile. She can't stand being apart for more than five or ten minutes, not with Jack around. I even sit in the bathroom while she showers. You can't ever leave her alone."

Jasper nodded for a third time. "I'll do it. And I know Alice will help, if the need arises."

Peter gave a sad smile and motioned toward the building. "Come on. Let's get to class before Charlotte freaks out."

They headed toward Chemistry, entering the classroom to find Charlotte looking a bit frantic beside Alice. Peter ran to her, but Jasper stayed behind a bit, thinking about what he'd agreed to do. He'd need to talk to Alice about this. He also needed to ask her about the visions she'd been having, the ones that were upsetting her so much. Every time he brought them up, she'd suddenly have something else to do. But he was ready for some answers. He decided to talk to Alice after first period, out in the woods. Alice nodded.

The bell signaling the end of first period finally rang, and Jasper took Alice's hand, leading her out of the science building and into the woods behind the school. Alice leaped ahead of him, leading the way. Finally, they arrived in a little clearing, with a big rock in the middle. Alice sat down on the rock, patting the space beside her. Jasper sat down. "So. Are you going to tell me what's been going on?" Alice gave a little smile. "I can't tell you everything. But I can tell you a little bit. What do you want to know?"

"I want to know what these visions are that you find so upsetting. Like the one you had last night."

Alice leaned into Jasper, and he wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. "The bad ones… those are the ones of Jack hurting Charlotte. They're horrible." Jasper was silent, his only response to start rubbing Alice's back. "The one last night… It was the worst so far. Not because it was graphic, but more because… it had this hopeless, desperate feeling to it. And it was strange, because at the end, it just… vanished. Like it wasn't finished, but something was blocking me from seeing the rest." Jasper continued rubbing her back, moving his hand in circles across her shoulders. "And the worst part is… anytime any of us decides to help, anytime I decide to step in, anything, Charlotte ends up dead. I get vision after vision of her dead on the floor. Sometimes, Peter lives. Sometimes, he dies. But even when I get the visions of him surviving… something's off. He has this look in his eye, like he's about to go on a killing spree. If she dies, he'll go mad."

"Is there nothing we can do?"

"Nothing. Every possible decision we've made to help… she dies. The only exception is if we take her in, because Peter's missing. Then she lives… barely. I can't see exactly how it'll turn out. It's only a possibility, right now."

"Is there anything good that can happen at all?"

"I did have one good vision. Of Charlotte playing tag with Emmett. She knew we were vampires, in the vision. I'm not sure what it means. But it's not a for-sure vision. There are so many things that could change it, right now."

Jasper nodded, lifting Alice into his lap. "Don't worry, darling. It'll work out the way it's meant to. We'll tell everyone not to interfere tonight. If Carlisle doesn't call a family meeting, I will."

Alice buried her face in his shirt. "I wish Edward was here, instead of off honeymooning with Bella. He'd know what to do." Jasper gently lifted her chin up so that she was looking at him. "Don't be like that, Alice. You can do this. Besides, you're not all alone here. You have me." Alice leaned back into him. "I hope you're right. I'm just so worried about this. I can't see everything, Jasper. I don't know everything."

"It's okay, doll. No one expects you to know everything. Things will happen like they're meant to. All you can do is what you think is right." Alice laughed as Jasper picked her up and flipped her onto the rock. "Now… I think we missed out on something last night, while we were worrying about them," he growled into her ear. "Maybe it's time to play a little catch up." Alice grinned, pulling his face to hers. "I think you might be right."

* * *

Alice and Jasper got back to school just in time to pick up Peter and Charlotte and drop them off at Jack's house. Then they headed back home, preparing for a family meeting. They were met at the door by Emmett and Rosalie. "Come on, you two. Family meeting in the dining room. Carlisle wants to know what's going on." Alice smiled, dancing into the room with Jasper following close behind. She was feeling a lot better after her afternoon with Jasper. She twirled into her seat at the far end of the table. "Hello everyone!" Carlisle smiled at her from the other end of the table. "So, Alice. Can you tell us what's happening?" Alice smiled back. "Of course I can! But you're not going to like what I have to say." Carlisle nodded. "Go ahead."

"Alright. Well, Peter and Charlotte are the foster kids of Jack Culver, a logger. Carlisle, you should know who I'm talking about. He came to the hospital when that guy nearly cut his own arm off at the factory."

"Yes, I know who you're talking about. He smelled like alcohol."

"That's not surprising. Jack's an alcoholic. And the alcohol makes him mean. He's abusive. That's why Peter and Charlotte look like they do."

"Well that shouldn't be too hard to take care of. I'll just report him, and the children will be moved to a better foster home. At the very worst, we could always take them in."

"That's just it. We can't do anything. Any attempt we make to help, Charlotte dies. I've seen it over and over. If we meddle, she won't live."

Esme interrupted. "We have to do something, Alice. I can't stand to see children being treated like this."

Alice shook her head. "We can't, not if we want to save Charlotte. The only thing we can do- well, I'll let Jasper tell you about that."

Jasper nodded, picking up the conversation from Alice. "Today, Peter asked me to take care of Charlotte if anything happens to him. I agreed. If we ever see Charlotte without Peter, we can take her back here. Alice said that if I did that, Charlotte would live. But that's all we can do."

Rosalie jumped in. "Alice, I know the look on Charlotte's face. I know what's been done to her, how she's been hurt. Why can't I just kill this Jack? If he's dead, he can't kill her. And he deserves it."

"We can't. Even deciding to kill him ends with a dead Charlotte. I can't tell you why. All I get is this vision of her body."

Rosalie growled, and Emmett wrapped an arm around her waist. "Calm down, Rosie. Alice says that it'll work out. There's nothing we can do right now."

Carlisle looked Alice in the eye. "Should we call Edward? He and Bella might be of some help."

Alice shook her head. "Don't. Leave Jake and Nessie alone, too. Calling them would just mean more men around to scare Charlotte. I can't see it doing any good."

Carlisle nodded. "Very well. Can you see anything of use right now, Alice?"

"Not really. All I can say is not to get involved right now. I'll let you know if anything changes."

Carlisle nodded again, then clapped his hands together. "Okay, everyone. Go back to what you were doing. Alice will let us know if anything changes."

* * *

"Peter!" Jack roared. "Go find my chair. The green one. It's disappeared!" Peter rolled his eyes. Just last week, Jack had demanded he put the green chair in the attic, claiming it was staring at him. Peter opened the attic door, on the hallway ceiling, and pulled down the attached ladder. He climbed up quickly, and headed towards the far corner of the attic, where the chair was. A strange sound got his attention, and he looked back to see the attic door slam shut, and here a metal click. Peter ran back to the attic door, feverishly trying to pry it open, but it wouldn't budge. Jack must have padlocked it shut. Charlotte's piercing scream spurred Peter into action. He ran back across the attic, avoiding the pink insulation where there was no flooring. He grabbed the chair and picked it up, then dashed back to the door, pounding it into the attic door. The door stayed firm, the chair breaking nearly into two. Charlotte's screams grew louder and more frequent, then suddenly stopped.

Peter panicked. He searched the attic, looking for anything that might help him break down the door, but found nothing. The only things, besides the chair, in the attic were some old pictures and rat droppings. Peter dropped to his knees, cradling his face in his hands. Pictures of what Jack could be doing to Charlotte flooded his mind. And there was nothing he could do to help her, not stuck up here like this. Finally, he heard the unmistakable sound of Jack stomping out the door, hopefully for the night.

Peter sat up. He had to do something to help Charlotte, had to get out of here. He looked around the attic, trying to put together an escape plan. The attic had no windows, so that was out. There was also no way he was getting through the attic door. Hopelessness overtook him, and he lay down, pulling at the insulation in frustration. The pink insulation ripped easily, tearing in his hands. _If only the attic door came up this easily,_ he thought bitterly. _If only- of course! _That was it! He'd push his way through the insulation. He started ripping out insulation, finally coming to a maze of pipes. He continued pulling up insulation until he found a fairly pipe-free spot. He thought it was somewhere over the garage.

Peter punched through the drywall, thankful that the garage ceiling was so cheap. He made a hole big enough to fit through, then jumped down. It was a hard landing, but nothing felt broken. He jumped up and ran to garage door, the one leading into the house. Peter had to find Charlotte and help her; he felt an intense gratitude to whoever had gotten Jack out of the house. He made his way to the living room, where Charlotte had been last.

The living room was a wreck. Chairs and couches were knocked over; a lamp laid broken on the floor. In the middle of the room was Charlotte, crumpled in a ball in the middle of the floor. Her dress was hardly recognizable; it was ripped to the point it was covering almost nothing, and the fabric was now a reddish-brown color, as opposed to the ivory it had been earlier. Peter dashed to her side lifting her head a little to open up her airway. "Charlotte! Say something, darling. Can you talk?" Charlotte groaned. "Peter?" she rasped. Peter stroked her hair. "Don't worry, Charlotte. I'll get you cleaned up. You're gonna be okay." He ran into the kitchen, grabbing his emergency kit from where he'd hidden it in the stove. Jack never cooked, so it was as safe a place as any to keep it. He wetted a rag in the sink, and grabbed some towels. Then he went back into the living room and picked Charlotte up, bringing her into the kitchen and laying her on the floor in there.

He opened the kit. Inside, there were medicines, bandages, and scissors. There was also some antiseptic and some antibiotic cream, as well as a spare dress for Charlotte. He grabbed the scissors and started cutting off what was left of Charlotte's dress. "Peter," she murmured, "my back hurts." He gently turned her over to get a look at what she was talking about. A long string of curses erupted out of Peter. All down Charlotte's back were long, red, open scratches, still bleeding. Peter kissed her forehead. "Hang on, Char. I'm gonna take care of you. You'll feel better soon." He slung the emergency kit over his back, and wrapped Charlotte in a blanket. Those scratches would need stitches, and he couldn't do that. And if he took Charlotte to the hospital, they'd take her away for sure. But Alice's father was a doctor. He picked Charlotte up, preparing to walk all the way to the Cullen's house. It was fifteen miles or so, he guessed. For Charlotte, he could do it.

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**AN: don't forget about that poor, lonely green button at the bottom of the page, darlings. :]**


	5. Dog Bites

**AN: short chapter this time! mostly filler, but it still has important bits. BIG plot point coming next chapter. be excited. :]  
**

Peter hadn't carried Charlotte three miles before Alice's yellow Porsche pulled up beside him, Jasper driving. Alice jumped out of the car. "Peter! What's wrong with Charlotte!?" Peter grimaced. "Dog got her." Alice looked skeptical, but didn't contradict him. "Whatever. Just get in the car. We'll take you to Carlisle." Peter eased into the backseat, trying not to jostle Charlotte. Alice prodded Jasper and the car took off, speeding into the night. "What were you doing out so late, Alice?" Peter wondered. "Jasper and I went out tonight. We were just heading home." Peter knew that if they were really coming in from the city, they would have come from the other direction, and never would have passed him and Charlotte. He didn't say anything, though. Some people were… different. Knew things they shouldn't, had a sort of sixth sense. His mother had been like that. The morning of the day she died, she'd told Peter how much she loved him, that she hoped his life would work out when she was gone. Peter had been confused at the time, of course, but his mother's diary had explained everything. She'd known the day she was going to die, she just didn't know how. Alice probably had a similar gift.

The ride back the Cullen house was quick, thanks to Jasper's reckless driving. They pulled into the driveway and Jasper jumped out of the car, running into the house.

Carlisle and Emmett appeared outside almost instantly, rushing to the car. Peter stroked Charlotte's hair, warning her that he was going to have to move her again. Charlotte didn't respond; she'd been drifting in and out of consciousness since he'd found her on the living room floor. Peter felt the anger pushing up from his stomach, but he pushed it back down. He couldn't get angry, not in front of Charlotte. He just wouldn't think about what had happened.

Emmett opened the car door, trying to take Charlotte. Peter growled at him, a long, threatening sound. _That's odd, _Peter thought. _I've never done that before._ Emmett backed away, chuckling. "Come on, little man. Carry your girl in." Peter hoisted Charlotte out of the car, walking toward the house. Carlisle followed closely behind. As soon as they got into the house, Carlisle asked him to lay her down on the dining room table and wait for him. "I'll be right back. I need to get my bag."

True to his word, Carlisle was back in less than half a minute, dumping his bag on the table. He removed the blanket carefully, then laid Charlotte on her stomach. He covered up her bottom half with the blanket, which Peter was thankful for. He didn't like any guy looking at her naked, doctor or not. Carlisle pulled what looked like wet wipes out of the bag, and then started to clean Charlotte's back off. She cried out when he went over the scratches. Peter jumped up, but sat back down. Carlisle was the doctor, so Peter would stay out of the way until he was done.

Carlisle carefully stitched up Charlotte's back, then got a prescription bottle out of his bag. "This will help with the pain," he said. "Have Charlotte take one every eight hours or so." Peter nodded, taking the bottle and slipping it into his pocket. Carlisle looked down at him sternly. "Alice tells me this was a dog attack?" Peter nodded again. It was a lie and they both knew it, but Carlisle didn't say anything about it. "Take Charlotte upstairs, son. You can have Alice's room again. Clean her up in the bathroom- don't worry about ruining towels. We'll take care of it. Just watch out for her stitches." Peter nodded once again, wrapping the blanket around Charlotte again before carrying her upstairs to Alice's room.

Peter laid Charlotte down in the tub as gently as possible, but her eyes still fluttered open. "Peter?"

"It's me. Carlisle stitched you up, and now I'm going to clean you up so we can go to sleep."

Charlotte smiled, enjoying the feel of the washcloth on her bruised skin. Her back didn't hurt at all; she couldn't even feel it. Carlisle must have numbed it. She laughed. It felt like she was lying on mushrooms. Peter stopped washing her for a minute. "What's so funny?" Charlotte laughed again. "My back. It feels like mushrooms." Peter chuckled, and even though her eyes were closed, Charlotte knew he was rolling his eyes at her. He resumed his cleaning, and Charlotte sighed. Now she knew why people in the hospital liked sponge baths so much.

Peter flipped her over, washing her legs. "How do you feel, Charlotte?"

"I feel fine. He numbed my back. I can't feel a thing. I'm just a little tired, is all."

Peter finished washing, helping her to sit up. "Hang on a second. Let me get out your dress." He opened up his emergency kit, pulling out a moss green shift dress with gold embroidery. It was one of Charlotte's favorites, which was why he kept it on hand for emergencies. She held up her arms, like a little kid waiting to be dressed. He laughed, slipping the dress over her head. "There you go, you five year old you. Come on, let's go to bed." Charlotte started to push herself up, using the edge of the bathtub for support, but Peter got impatient and just picked her up. He carried her to the bed, and they flopped down, exhausted.

* * *

The next day was horrible. Peter had wanted nothing more than to just stay at the Cullen's house all day, but they couldn't miss school. The office would call Jack and tell him. The entire day, Peter practically carried Charlotte from class to class. She was so weak she couldn't even stand up by herself, much less move around. The blood loss had really gotten to her. The pain pills that Carlisle had given Peter were working, though. That was one thing to be grateful for. After all, they'd had to deal with stuff like this before, without the benefit of doctor-made stitches and pain pills.

Walking out of the school, Charlotte stumbled, nearly falling on her face. Peter caught her, but he felt an intense fury building up. How could Jack do this to her? He quickly extinguished the anger, not wanting to scare Charlotte. Charlotte lurched, and Peter gave up on letting her walk. Not caring who saw anymore, he swung her into his arms, carrying her toward Alice's car bridal style.

Jasper dropped them off at Jack's house, and Peter noticed with relief that Jack's car was not in the driveway. He carried Charlotte inside, seeing that the living room was still a wreck. He'd have to clean that up or Jack might get angry. Peter set Charlotte down on the floor and walked down the hallway to get cleaning supplies out of the closet. "Peter?" Charlotte called.

"Yes, love?"

"Could you bring me some bleach and a rag so I can get to work on this bloodstain?"

Peter's face darkened at the thought of what made that stain, but he didn't say anything. He got Charlotte her supplies and walked back into the living room. Handing Charlotte the bleach and the rag, he wondered if she would do better resting than scrubbing the carpet. "Charlotte? Are you sure you want to do that? You could take a nap, instead. I'd take care of it." Charlotte shook her head. "I can handle it. Besides, we need to get finished quickly. There's no telling when Jack will get home." Peter nodded, then got to work putting the furniture back to rights.

Peter picked broken glass out of the carpet, putting it into a plastic bag while Charlotte scrubbed at the last patch of brownish-red on the floor. "Charlotte?" Peter murmured.

"Yes?"

"I have something to tell you."

Charlotte smiled, looking up from her work. "What?"

"I don't want you to be afraid of Jasper anymore. You don't need to be afraid of any of the Cullens."

Charlotte nodded. "What else?"

"You can talk to him and stuff too."

"That's not it. What aren't you telling me?"

Peter sighed. She knew him so well. "Char… if something happens to me… for any reason… I need you to go to Alice's house. Jasper will take care of you. Just until I can come back for you. I need you… I need you to try and live without me, Charlotte. If I can't be there."

Charlotte's bottom lip quivered. "You're leaving me?"

"No! No, of course not. I just wanted to have plans, if something happened. You know."

Charlotte nodded, looking worried. "Okay."

Peter went to her, letting her curl up into him. "Come on, Charlotte. Let's finish this up so we can get some rest."

Quickly, they finished the last of their cleaning, and Peter put everything up. Peter decided there was nothing to be done about the hole in the garage ceiling except hope Jack didn't notice it, so they didn't bother with that, except for cleaning up all the little drywall pieces. Charlotte wanted to sleep in the garage, but Peter thought it might be too cold for her, so they decided to sleep behind the couch in the living room instead. It wasn't the safest place, but it was warm, and Jack would probably come home too inebriated to think about looking for them anyhow.

* * *

Outside of the house, Jasper stood looking through the window at the two forms sleeping behind the couch. Charlotte's fear level suddenly spiked, but Jasper quickly soothed it. He'd been doing this all night, trying to give Charlotte at least one night of peaceful sleep. Alice said they couldn't interfere, but he had to do something. She'd said this would do no harm. As the first rays of morning sun started to light up the clouds, Jasper caught a whiff of deer, reminding him he needed to hunt. Taking one last glance back, Jasper darted into the forest. Hopefully Peter and Charlotte could survive this Saturday.


	6. Fury

**AN: This is a big, BIG, HUGE chapter. Mostly just fluff at the beginning, but read it, because it has some important character insights in it. But at the end is where it gets good. I'm telling you. You'll believe me after you read it. :]

* * *

**

Charlotte woke to the sounds of birds chirping. Sunlight streamed through the window, landing comfortably on her face. Charlotte stretched and yawned, feeling much stronger the day before. Sitting up, she realized that Peter was still sleeping comfortably beside her. She laughed as he let out a snore loud enough to reverberate through the house. Peter was so cute. She ran her fingers through his lovely, copper-tinted hair. He'd need another haircut soon- maybe she'd give him one today. If they got everything done before Jack got home. Charlotte sighed. _Jack. _She'd have to wake Peter now, so they could be sure to have taken care of everything by the time Jack stormed through the door.

Charlotte decided to give him just a few more minutes of rest; he looked so tired. Even when he was exhausted like this, though, he was still beautiful. She thought he looked even better asleep sometimes; it was the only time she ever saw him looking calm and peaceful. Another sigh escaped Charlotte's lips. She loved Peter so much, but he could never see her that way. _And why would he?_ she thought bitterly. _I'm ruined. Used goods. Peter will want someone better. Deserves someone better. _Charlotte sniffled. It wasn't fair. She hadn't asked for this.

Suddenly, Peter made a noise, starting to wake up. Charlotte quickly wiped her cheeks, so Peter wouldn't know she'd been upset. Peter sat up, slowly blinking his eyes. "Charlotte?" he asked groggily. Charlotte smiled. She loved being the first thing he thought of when he woke up. "I'm here." Peter smiled sleepily. "Hey princess." Charlotte laughed, beautiful peals of amusement. "Come on, Peter. We need to get to work." He laughed too, a rough, deep chuckle, and stood up. Peter extended a hand to Charlotte, helping her up.

Charlotte headed for the laundry room while Peter searched the house for dirty clothes and linens. She turned on the washing machine and added detergent, letting it get some water in while she waited for Peter. After a couple minutes, Peter came in, arms piled high with Jack's disgusting clothes, bed sheets, and towels. "Here you go, Charlotte. Sorry- they reek." Charlotte laughed. "Like I'm not used to it. Here, help me sort." Peter instantly plopped down on the floor, pulling Charlotte down with him. "No, you help me sort. You lazy bum you." She giggled, tossing a sock at him. "Don't be such a bully, Peter." Peter just laughed, and started to help her separate lights from darks.

The washing machine dinged, letting Charlotte know it had enough water. She got up and started loading sheets and towels into the machine. "We only really need to do two loads, Peter. If you'll hand me anything white, I'll go ahead and put it in so we don't have to do three." Peter did as she asked, diligently gathering socks and wifebeaters to hand to Charlotte. He smiled to himself as he sat back down, leaning against the wall. He loved watching her work. She was so much more assertive, so much more self confident. Not mention he loved the view from where he was. She probably shouldn't wear such short dresses.

When the laundry was finally finished, Peter decided that they should go out and enjoy the rare sunny day. It was lovely outside, if a bit chilly. No way was he going to let Charlotte miss this. "Come on, doll. Let's go outside and play a bit." Charlotte laughed. "Play? How old are we, again?" Peter grinned and grabbed her hand, leading her outside. "Who cares? Besides, who decided sixteen and seventeen year olds couldn't play outside?" Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Peter."

Peter dragged Charlotte to their neighbor's backyard, which had a swing set. He plunked her down in a swing. "Want me to push you?" Charlotte turned back to smile at him. "Well, since I don't actually know how to swing, I guess you're going to have to." Peter smiled at her. "I'd teach you, but… I don't actually remember how. So I guess we're stuck doing things my way." Charlotte laughed, turning back to face front. Learning how to swing was just another one of the little things that didn't always happen when you were in the system. Charlotte had been in foster care nearly her entire life- her mother had died giving birth to her, and her father had disappeared when she was three. She had no recollection of her birth parents, just an endless string of foster homes, some better than others. Charlotte couldn't ride a bike, had never gone to the zoo or to Disney World. Sometimes, she wondered what her life would have been like if her mother had lived, but Charlotte had realized long ago that it wouldn't have been that great. Her mother had been a model and quite possibly a crack addict, after all.

Charlotte sighed, but turned to happier thoughts. Like Peter. Peter was what made her whole life, everything she'd been through, worth it. He was great. She smiled, basking in the sun, enjoying the way Peter's large, rough hands felt against her back. She closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of children playing, of animals rustling in the trees behind the house. The sounds of the things she loved. If she lived to be eighteen, Charlotte wanted to go to college and learn to be a kindergarten teacher, or perhaps a special education teacher. Maybe Peter would go to college too.

Charlotte opened her eyes to realize that the sun was getting a bit low on the horizon. "Come on, Peter. We better get back to Jack's house before he does." She hopped out of the swing, sliding her hand into Peter's as they ran back to Jack's. They slipped through the back door and into the kitchen. Looking at the clock on the microwave, Charlotte saw that it was nearly five thirty. "I gotta start dinner, Peter. It's getting late." Peter nodded and sat down at the table, out of the way. He couldn't help Charlotte cook. He'd just be in the way.

Charlotte set some water to boil, pulling out pasta to cook. She hurried around the kitchen, pulling meatballs out of the freezer and getting sauce out the pantry. Peter set out a plate and utensils for Jack while Charlotte slipped the meatballs, the ones she'd made a couple weeks ago and frozen, in the oven. Peter went back to his seat as Charlotte heated up the sauce and put the pasta in the now-boiling water. Peter grinned, watching her dash around the kitchen. Watching her cook was even more fun than watching her do laundry, even if the view wasn't quite as good.

Charlotte had just dumped the spaghetti and meatballs on a plate when Jack stomped through the door. Peter hurried to grab a beer for Jack and set it down on the table with his food. Jack stormed into the kitchen, heading right for the food. As silently as they could, Peter and Charlotte slipped out of the kitchen and into the living room. Being in the same room as Jack when he had any sort of weapon, butter knife or no, was never a good idea. They hunkered down in a corner against the wall, unable to go to far away for fear that Jack might demand something. Charlotte huddled in Peter's arms, not as afraid as she might have been, but still worried. She could never get used to Jack's random fits of abuse and anger.

Finally, Jack finished dinner and lazed into the living room with another beer, turning on the TV. The television turned on to the weather. Jack swore and changed the channel. More weather. Another channel. Just news. Another. Another. Jack threw the remote across the room and it smashed into the wall, breaking into pieces. Jack roared. "Where's the f**cking football? Huh? What'd you do to my TV, you little brats!?" Charlotte and Peter went very still, trying not to let Jack notice them. No such luck. Jack looked straight at them, and voice suddenly changed from a roar to an oily tone, one that hinted at barely suppressed anger. "Come here, you two. Come to Daddy." Charlotte made as if to stand up, but Peter kept her down, standing up himself instead. Jack sneered. "Not you, you little faggot. I want the girl." Peter growled, but at Charlotte's whimper, he quickly calmed himself. "Gotcha pussy-whipped, huh? Get over here, you little whore. You in the corner." Charlotte started to stand up again, but Peter made a stopping motion behind his back.

Jack growled, standing up and advancing toward Peter. Peter stood his ground, unafraid of Jack. He couldn't let Jack have Charlotte, not again. Jack walked right up to Peter, coming close enough that if Peter breathed in enough, his chest would touch him. At a little over seven feet, with muscles that can only come from a lifetime of hard labor, Jack was a monster of a man. He towered a good six or seven inches over Peter, breathing hard over him. Jack's hands started for Peter's neck, put Peter beat him to it. He swung back his fist and plowed it into Jack's face, breaking his nose.

Jack roared in anger, a bull seeing red. He grabbed one of Peter's arms, twisting it, but Peter kicked him hard in the groin and he let go. Jack roared again, this time in pain, and launched himself at Peter, knocking him to the floor. The two men fought like wild animals, rolling around on the floor, throwing punches left and right. Peter, however, was fighting two enemies- not just Jack, but his temper as well. Peter didn't want to get angry, didn't want to scare Charlotte more than he already was. Jack kept talking about what he was going to do to Charlotte once he finished with Peter, distracting him well enough that Peter was soon fighting only defensively, trying so hard not to get angry that he forgot all about getting the upper hand. Then, Jack whispered, "And once I'm through with her, I'm gonna let my buddies have her. A nice, cheap group whore, too weak to stop us."

Peter paused to regain his composure for just a second, and Jack took advantage of his momentary distraction to throw him against the wall. Peter struggled to get up, but Jack swung his leg back and kicked Peter in the chest hard enough to break ribs. The crack was sickening. Peter struggled to breathe, his breaths getting shallower and shallower.

Jack laughed, walking over to Charlotte. He grabbed her by the hair, hoisting her up and throwing her halfway across the room. Charlotte scrambled to get up, but once she was standing she found herself frozen with fear, unable to move. Peter yelled at her to run, but she couldn't move. She wouldn't even if she could. She'd never leave Peter. Slowly, Jack advanced on Charlotte. He laughed cruelly, taunting Peter as he grasped Charlotte, turning her so she was facing Peter. "I'm gonna take her slow," he jeered, "but definitely not gentle." He grabbed two of Charlotte's fingers and brutally snapped them, the tiny bones poking out of her skin. Charlotte cried out. Peter, fighting desperately to reign in his anger, realized that he was growling, that he couldn't stop. As Jack started to pull Charlotte's dress down, Peter lost it.

He exploded, launching himself toward Jack in an eruption of fur and fangs and anger, with only one thought in his mind: Kill.


	7. Mantras

**AN: Sorry this took so long to get out- i had exams all last week, and i didn't have the energy to write sunday. but i got this written and hopefully you'll like it! reviewers get extra love and the made-from-scratch chocolate chip cookies i baked this morning! **

Charlotte wandered aimlessly in the forest behind Jack's house, searching for Peter. Mud was smeared on her face and clothes; leaves and sticks were tangled in her hair. Scratches from thorns and branches covered every inch of uncovered skin. Her dress was torn into an unrecognizable shape. The forest was pitch black; night had fallen long ago, and the tree branches weaved together overhead, stopping the faint starlight from touching the ground. Still, she pressed on, stumbling over roots and falling into puddles. "Peter!" she cried, her voice hoarse. "Peter, where are you!?" Tears blocked her vision as she stepped forward. She tripped over a fallen tree, her head slamming into a rock. The world went black.

* * *

Peter crashed through the forest, lost and confused. Who was he? What was he? Images flashed through his head. Jack. Blood. Charlotte. Charlotte. Smells surrounded him, assailing his senses. Grass. Rabbit, to his left. Mountain lion, far ahead. Something nameless and terrible, a horrid, icy stench. Peter swerved right and then left, completely disoriented. What was happening? He stopped to howl at the moon, an instinct that couldn't be ignored. The howl was anguished, tormented. _Charlotte,_ Peter thought, struggling to hold onto himself. _Charlotte. _

* * *

Carlisle, finished hunting, turned and headed back to the house. He dashed through the forest, dodging trees and ripping through branches, their touches feather-light on his skin. Suddenly, he drew to a halt. He could smell Alice's Charlotte. She was bleeding. And he could smell werewolf, a faint wet dog smell sticking to her clothes. Cautiously, he crept in the direction of the scent. He didn't want to scare her.

Peering through the trees, Carlisle spotted Charlotte. She wasn't moving. Quickly, he moved over beside her, listening to her pulse. He analyzed her condition. She was barely breathing, and there was a large gash on her forehead. Two of her fingers were broken, and she was covered in bruises. Her dress was torn and filthy. And she was unconscious. Supporting her head, like he would a baby, he carefully lifted her up and ran back to the house. He'd need to do some tests, maybe an x-ray. She looked bad.

Carlisle flew through the open door and into his house, where Alice was waiting. He motioned for Alice to follow him as he headed upstairs, to the examining room on the second floor. He laid Charlotte down on the hospital bed, then turned to Alice. "What happened?"

"I don't know… I saw Jack, and Peter was hurt…. And then the vision went blank, like something cut it off. I saw Jack… dead, but I didn't see her again until five seconds before you came in the door."

"She smells like werewolf."

"Yes… I have a theory about that."  
"Okay. I'll get Charlotte fixed up, then we can talk about this as a family. Would you stay in the room with me? If she wakes up, it may help if there's someone familiar in the room with her."

Alice cringed. "Yeah… about that. I'll stay in here, but… it's not going to help much. We're going to need Jasper. She's going to be… a bit... different from last time."

Carlisle nodded, understanding, then turned back to Charlotte. He got a wet cloth and cleaned her up, then applied a numbing agent to the worst of the scratches. As he stitched up her forehead, he felt a growing anger at the man who had done this to her. _She'll not go back to him,_ he decided. _We'll keep her here. Jack won't do this again. _Alice nodded. "She'll stay here with us for the next two weeks. After that, I don't know. I can't see." Carlisle gave a curt nod and continued with his work, splinting her two broken fingers. "This is all I can do for her right now. What she needs now is rest. Could you take her to your room and put her in some clean clothes, Alice? I want to talk to Esme. And be careful to support her head, please. She's unconscious."

Alice scooped Charlotte up. "Alright. I'll take care of her. Could you send Jasper up to me?"

"No problem."

Alice carried Charlotte into her room and laid her down on the bed, then went to the closet. Row after row of clothes stared back at her, each one begging to be worn, but Alice ignored them, traveling to the back of the closet. She had set up a special rack for Charlotte in the back. Thumbing through the dresses, she decided on a pale yellow silk, with pearls sewn onto the hem and neckline. She turned around only to bump into something tall and hard. Alice jumped back, then realized it was Jasper. "You scared me!" Jasper bent over laughing, clutching his sides. "I can't believe you didn't see me coming! Ha! I scared the psychic!" Alice pouted and kicked his leg. "Well, I wasn't exactly looking for you. I didn't realize I needed to keep a lookout for my husband's vicious ambush." Jasper, still chuckling, just swung Alice into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. "Don't be such a sore loser," he laughed. Alice rolled her eyes and pushed him into the chair at the end of the bed, then promptly sat on him. "Be quiet."

Jasper, still laughing a bit, just wrapped his arms around Alice and pulled her back against his chest. "I love you," he murmured into her ear. The playful atmosphere changed to something more serious as Alice turned around, looking Jasper into the eyes. "You know I love you," she whispered, running kisses down his neck. Jasper's eyes darkened and he grabbed Alice, flipped her underneath him quickly. Gently, he kissed her shoulders, slipping the straps of her dress down as he went.

A gasp interrupted the moment. "Charlotte's waking up," Alice whispered, eyes wide. "Stay here." Instantly, Alice appeared right beside Charlotte. Charlotte let out a little whimper, shaking her head from side to side. She gasped again, three or four times in a row. Her eyes shot open. "Peter." Alice stroked Charlotte's hair, not saying anything. Words would only make this worse. "Peter!" Charlotte looked around wildly. "Peter!" she screamed, sobbing. "Peter!" She jumped up out of the bed, but Alice caught her and pushed her back down. "No! Let me go! Peter! PETER!" Charlotte thrashed in Alice's arms, struggling to escape, but Alice held her down easily. In the chair, Jasper cringed, trying not to feel Charlotte's emotions. Eventually, Charlotte's kicks and screams subsided, her sobs growing louder. "Peter… Peter…" Jasper turned to Alice, his eyes pleading. She nodded, and Jasper carefully smothered Charlotte in peace and calm until she fell asleep. "It's not going to last for long, Jasper. She'll wake up again in an hour. We'll need to be there. But for right now- we need to talk to the family. About what's going on." Jasper nodded and grasped Alice's hand, leading her downstairs to the living room, where the rest of the family was assembled.

Alice surveyed the somber faces in front of her, Carlisle and Esme on a couch, Emmett and Rosalie on a loveseat. "We need Edward. Not right away, though. He and Bella need to be here in twelve days. Carlisle, will you call him later? And please tell him that the timing is very important." Carlisle nodded, motioning for Alice to go on. "And, I haven't seen this, but… I'm thinking that we're going to need Jake, as well. I have this… feeling that we will. I guess he should come whenever Edward does." Carlisle smiled at Alice. "I'll take care of it. It seems appropriate to trust the feelings of the resident psychic." Emmett laughed, kicking back in the loveseat. "No way. I don't believe it." Carlisle chuckled, and soon the whole family was laughing, including Alice. Once the mirth had subsided, Alice clapped her hands, bringing the family back to the subject at hand. "There's something else. I think… I think Peter is a werewolf. A shape shifter like Jacob." Instantly, Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie began to argue with her, talking over each other, but Carlisle sat silent.

"Enough!" Carlisle finally announced. "I think Alice is right."

"But Peter isn't even an Indian!" Rosalie exclaimed. "His hair was copper!"

Carlisle shook his head. "We don't know anything about Peter's heritage. He is a foster child, remember? But allow me to explain. You see, Charlotte smells of werewolf. And Alice's visions are being interrupted, much like when she first came in contact with the wolves. I believe that my assumption will be validated when Jack's body is discovered."

Alice nodded. "It'll come on the TV in three minutes and forty-two seconds. Channel five."

Emmett bounded over to the television and turned it on, flipping the channel from one eighty-seven to five in less than a second. Doing it by hand was so much faster than waiting for the remote. The family turned to face the television, but Alice wasn't paying attention to the TV. _Charlotte rocked back and forth by the window, crying quietly. She whispered a mantra_ _under her breath, "Peter, Peter, Peter…" Her eyes were blank as she stared at the windowpanes, her breath harsh and uneven. "Peter, Peter, Peter…" Emmett came into the room, skirting along the edges, but Charlotte saw him. She screamed, huddling into the wall. "Peter Peter Peter Peter Peter!" Emmett cringed, moving at the fastest pace a human would possibly walk at as he abandoned the room._

Alice jerked out of the vision to find Jasper holding her as the rest of the family stared at her. Jasper smiled down at her, instantly soothing her emotions. "You were muttering."

"Oh. Well, I'm fine now. It was just a vision. Now pay attention to the TV. It'll be on soon."

The rest of the family turned away, but Jasper wasn't appeased. "I'll explain later, Jazz. Just not now." Jasper nodded, turning to face the television. Finally, the news came on. "Jack Culver, a local forester, was found dead in his home today," the anchorwoman announced. "His death appears to be from an animal attack, a wolf or a bear. The time of death has not yet been determined." A picture of Jack's mangled body decorated the screen; his head had been nearly ripped off. There was blood everywhere. The screen faded back to the newswoman. "His two foster children, Peter Ivring and Charlotte Feist, are reported missing." Long-outdated pictures of the two flashed onto the screen, but the Cullens were no longer interested in the television. "You see?" Alice murmured. Rosalie looked skeptical but kept silent.

Suddenly, a thought struck Esme. "Alice, dear. How are we going to tell Charlotte? And are we going to tell them the truth about us, as well?" Alice nodded. "Yes. I've seen Charlotte knowing about us, so it's going to happen eventually. But we're not going to be able to tell her anything for a while. Charlotte is going to be pretty… out of commission." Esme's brow creased. "Isn't there anything we can do for her?"

"Not much that I can see. Hopefully… hopefully she'll improve a little. I don't see her dead yet, at least. It's better than it was."

Esme nodded and retreated into Carlisle's arms, looking worried. As she settled back, a piercing scream came from upstairs. Esme jumped up and Alice cringed. "She's going to actually wake in about six minutes. Come on, Jazz. We need to be there. Everyone else, stay down here." Alice and Jasper hurdled up the stairs to Charlotte, leaving the rest of the family in the living room.

* * *

Peter lay down in the underbrush, lost and exhausted. Where was Charlotte? Where was he? And what was he? Peter looked up to the moon and poured his despair into a tortured howl. _Charlotte, _he thought desperately. _Charlotte. _


	8. Memories

**AN: sorry for the wait, but you know how the holidays are. i'll try to be faster next time. the italicized bits are flashbacks, btw. and don't hate me for how Charlotte is right now! i know she's overly dependent, but that's a result of her terrible upbringing. blame jack! and while you're at it, leave a review! **

**Mortal instruments fans- if you're okay with alec/isabelle pairing, i have a new drabble up. take a look! :] **

Charlotte laid on the floor, unmoving. _Peter. _Her pale golden hair was clean and well brushed, curling gently at the ends. Her dress was smooth and unwrinkled, a lovely moss green silk. _Peter._ Alice stood in the corner of the room, watching her carefully. She was never left alone, not for an instant. _Peter. _Charlotte shook her head slightly, trying to dislodge the fog in her mind. Without- without _him, _she couldn't focus. Couldn't think. _Peter. _Charlotte tried again to get past the fuzzy barrier in her mind, but she just couldn't do it. She was too far back in her head to do anything more than observe.

Charlotte watched the scene play out from overhead, as if she wasn't a part of it at all. She felt her hands touch her face, felt the wetness that landed on her fingertips. _Peter_. For the first time, she heard his name echo through the room. She looked down on herself, confused. _Peter. _Where was the voice coming from? Charlotte watched her lips move, saw them slowly forming syllables. _Peter. _Finally, she realized that it was coming from her, that it was his name. The low keening continued as Charlotte drifted further back into her mind, losing awareness of the world around her.

_She ran around the front yard in a nice subdivision, coming to a stop at a young tree. "Base!" Another girl, Anita, followed close behind her, crashing into the tree. "Base!" Charlotte and Anita clutched the tree as the laughed against it, watching Anita's brother, Ben, chase the last remaining player, Elsie. She had almost reached the tree when Ben grabbed the back of her shirt. "You're it!" Elsie closed her eyes and started to count backwards from twenty-five as Charlotte, Anita, and Ben dashed off to hide. Charlotte hid in the bushes, right underneath the dining room window. As she crouched there, breathing hard, she heard Ben and Anita's parents talking to a stranger. "We've been thinking, Mrs. Caldwell. You know we've been wanting to adopt; we've made our decision. We want to adopt Elsie." _

_ "You'll have to talk to her about it, but it shouldn't be a problem. Her parents have life sentences in jail."_

_ "And… about Charlotte. She's a wonderful little girl, very sweet, but… we just can't keep her. Sheldon and I can't handle four children."_

_ "That's all right, Mrs. Matlock. We'll take care of it. Finding a home for a nine year old can be challenging, but she's blessed with her mother's looks. It shouldn't be too hard."_

_ Charlotte sank to the ground. They wanted to get rid of her? What had she done wrong? She cried against the brick wall of the house until Elsie found her._

For a moment, Charlotte surfaced. Through the haze, she saw Alice picking out clothes; watched herself shaking on the hardwood floor. Slowly, she sank back under.

_Holed up in the group home's library, Charlotte sat at the computer, pretending to do homework. Checking over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking, she quickly opened up Google and typed in "Anna Feist." As the pages loaded up, Charlotte wondered what type of person her mother had been. A lawyer, a doctor, a librarian? Maybe she'd been a teacher or a nurse. Charlotte clicked on the first result. It was a news article. The picture showed a tall, skinny woman walking down the catwalk in a swimsuit. "Anna Feist works Prada, New York Fashion Week" was the title. _

_ Charlotte sat back in shock as she read the article. It talked about her mother's burgeoning career in the fashion industry and her top-dog boyfriend, the CEO of a financial company. The article went on to expand on Anna's suspected cocaine addiction and her constant wild partying. Charlotte closed the program and blinked furiously. Her mother had been a model? A partier and a crack addict? No one had told her about any of this! She had hoped for someone she could look up to, someone to admire. Modeling was a great profession, but the drugs and parties… Charlotte shook her head. She couldn't look up to that. Not when she'd seen first hand what it could do to people. _

_ Charlotte got off the computer and headed back toward her room. Curfew was at nine o'clock, and she had to be in her room. She trudged toward bed, wondering if she would ever get out of this place. She wanted a mother and father again. She had been in the home for nearly a year, but Mrs. Caldwell had promised to have her out by her tenth birthday. She could only hope._

Gasping, Charlotte broke through once more. Everything was still fuzzy, but it felt more real this time. She observed herself crying on the floor, curled up into the wall underneath a window. She heard herself scream and saw Alice look up from across the room, a look of intense sadness and helplessness on her face. She waited until the screaming stopped, then rejoined her mind, sinking back into the safety of her subconscious.

_Charlotte crouched_ _underneath the beat up old end table, watching Jack's boots stomp across the carpet. She pressed herself more into the corner where the couch met the wall, holding her breath. She didn't want him to find her. But he passed the table without even looking, heading to the front door and throwing it open just as the doorbell began to ring. From her hiding spot, Charlotte had a good view of the doorway. An unfamiliar woman stood at the door, a surly looking boy behind her, trash bag in hand. "Hello, Mr. Culver. This is Peter, the boy I told you about. You said you could take him immediately, so here he is." Jack scowled at the lady, then took a swig of his beer. "I'll be getting the check right away, won't I?" The woman nodded. "Whenever you get the support check for her." Jack nodded, motioning at the boy. "Well then get in here already." Peter walked into the house and Jack slammed the door shut behind him. "Make yourself useful and find that girl. And get me a beer while you're at it." _

_Jack stormed upstairs and Charlotte heard the unmistakable sound of his door slamming._

_ Peter turned towards her hiding place. "You can come out now. I'm not going to hurt you." Cautiously, Charlotte crept out from underneath the end table. She flashed a glance at his face before quickly looking down at the ground. He said he wouldn't hurt her, but so did Jack, and look how that had turned out. Peter gently grasped her chin, pulling her face up so that she was looking into his eyes. "My last home was like this, too. I know how you feel." Charlotte felt a weak smile start to creep across her face. "I'm Charlotte. I'm eleven." _

_ "Peter. Twelve. Are you in sixth grade too?" _

_ Charlotte nodded, glad to know they'd be going to school together. She always hated walking in the mornings by herself. _

_ "That's good. Now come on, let's hide out in the kitchen. Jack is too big for me to take on by myself, but I promise you- when I can, I will. He can't do this forever."_

Charlotte's eyes opened and she looked out to find herself in the Cullen house, curled up on the couch beside Alice. She felt something wet run down her cheek- tears, she thought. The keening sound from earlier was still coming out of her mouth. Charlotte wondered how long she'd been with the Cullens. Days? Years? She patted her hands on her face, trying to stop the tears, trying to stop the constant string of "PeterPeterPeterPeter" coming out of her mouth. Alice stroked her hair, then looked towards the doorway expectantly. Jasper walked in. Charlotte whimpered and burrowed deeper into the couch. Alice kept stroking Charlotte's hair as she looked at Jasper. "She's been like this for over a week… she'll come out of it soon. She's been trying, I can tell. I need you to help her along, try to keep her from sinking into this again. I need her conscious when Edward gets here, or he's not going to be any help."

"Are you still sure that you don't want Jacob to come sooner? This is all about Peter. Jacob could help him change, then Peter could come take care of Charlotte."

"We've been over this. Every time we decide to have Jacob come sooner, I see Charlotte dead. Don't ask me why; my visions don't tell me that. Maybe she has to learn how to at least function on a basic level without Peter to live."

Jasper sighed. "I know; I just hate seeing her like this. And I promised to take care of her, but I can barely stand being near her. There just don't seem to be many options here."

Alice smiled a little. "I know. Come here for a minute. Sit by me. Try to help her wake up."

From the back of her mind, Charlotte inched through the fog, moving past the haze. She felt the tears underneath her fingers dry as the mantra died in her throat. Struggling to regain control, Charlotte pushed through the haze, truly seeing what was around her for the first time in ten days. Slowly, she forced herself to sit up, to feel the world around her. The edges were still a bit fuzzy, but Charlotte felt more real now. She turned to Alice.

Alice wrapped her up in a hug, then set her down. "Let me go get you some real food, Charlotte. We've been having to feed you through a tube. You must be starving." As if on cue, her stomach gave a monstrous rumble. Charlotte tried to laugh, but all that came out was a little sob. Strangely, she didn't find herself slipping back to where she'd been; something was holding her in the present. Charlotte stared out the window. "Peter." Jasper cringed, then came up to her, putting his arm around her shoulder. "I'll get you a chair set up by the window. You can watch for him to come home." Charlotte nodded slowly, fighting to stay conscious.

Alice waltzed into the room, a bowl of soup in her hand. "Here you go Charlotte. This should warm you up. I'll find you a chair for the window." Jasper smiled at Alice's way of telling him he had done the right thing. A spike in Charlotte's emotions got his attention, and he quickly soothed her panic, subtly boosting her hunger so she'd eat. Alice thought that Peter would be back in five days. He sure hoped so; Jasper wasn't sure that Charlotte could last much longer.

Jasper wasn't sure what exactly was wrong with Charlotte; probably post-traumatic stress disorder, and maybe even borderline personality disorder. Both were possible results of the type of abuse Charlotte had clearly suffered. But he could see how dependent on Peter she was, and he knew that it wasn't healthy. She needed to be able to function on her own, to be her own person. If Peter ever made it back, Japer decided to tell him that Charlotte needed therapy. Turning his attention back to the scene at hand, Jasper watched Charlotte swirl her spoon around in the soup, listlessly watching the ripples it made. Shaking his head, he came and sat down beside her, preparing to spoon-feed the sixteen year old.

* * *

Peter shook the snow off of his fur and kept running, retracing his path. He had to find Charlotte. And he needed to figure out how to change back. The sun glinted in his eyes as he sped up, intent on reaching his destination as fast as possible. He didn't know how long he'd been like this, but it had been too long. Charlotte needed him.


	9. Thoughts

Esme floated through the house, going over everything with an old fashioned feather duster. She dusted her way down the stairs and onto the ground floor, humming a little under her breath. As she twirled into the living room, she saw Charlotte. She was in one of Esme's favorite chairs, an antique chair made of an especially dark type of alder, with a light blue, silk cushions. Esme stepped softly around the chair, being careful not to get in front of Charlotte as she dusted. Charlotte had been staring out the same window for the past two days, and any attempt to get her to leave the chair or move her attention elsewhere had been disastrous.

Esme retreated from the window and promptly came face to face with Jasper. He looked a bit strained; Charlotte's emotions must have been taking a toll on him. Esme tried to focus only on happy things, and was rewarded by a small smile from Jasper.

"Thanks."

"No problem, sweetie. Don't get too stressed- Alice says this will all be over two days from now. And Edward is coming this evening, so you'll get some rest from guard duty."

Jasper gave Esme a quick hug and a peck on the cheek. Esme beamed and swept out of the room to finish dusting. Jasper, however, sat down cross-legged on the floor beside Charlotte's chair. He calmed the perfunctory spikes of fear and panic that she always had when a man came into the room, then closed his eyes and leaned back against her chair. She usually did better when she thought he was sleeping.

Jasper tried to think about other things- about Alice, about Edward, about anything, really- but the problem with being a vampire was that there was room for it all, as well as the pain in his mind. It wasn't that the pain was that horrible; the thirst was much worse, and he had dealt with that for a long time. No; and the problem was not that the low, aching sense of Charlotte's emotions was so persistent, so emotionally tugging. He suspected that it was the multitude of intense emotions. Emptiness. Loneliness. Despair. Sadness. Depression. Pain. Panic. Fear. Hurt. Longing. And they really were too intense- she was feeling at a level that humans shouldn't be able to survive. Maybe that was the reason for her extreme reaction to Peter's absence- her too-concentrated feelings just overwhelmed her. He imagined her feelings were similar to what Edward was feeling when he'd thought Bella was dead; possibly even as strong as Edward's. If Charlotte was turned into a vampire, Jasper had a sneaking suspicion that her power would be very interesting indeed.

Suddenly, Charlotte's emotions skyrocketed. Jasper instantly focused on calming her down; he smothered all of her emotions until she was back to her former state. He looked out the window to see what had startled her, and saw Edward and Bella standing in the front yard talking to Carlisle. He must be explaining the situation. Turning his attention back to Charlotte, Jasper realized what the panic must have meant- that she could see the difference between strangers and people she knew. Jasper grinned. This was better than he'd hoped. He had been worried that Charlotte was so far back in her mind she couldn't make that distinction.

_You and Bella can come in now, _Jasper thought. Edward flashed a quick smile at the window and took Bella's arm, leading her into the house. He could already hear the girl's thoughts, but he was having trouble distinguishing them. They all ran together, and they were… blurry. Clearer than Charlie's thoughts had been, but much fuzzier than most. Concentrating on one string of thought, Edward quickly realized that her thoughts would not bring much light on the situation. Not unless "PeterPeterPeterPeter" would be useful. Speaking fast and low enough that Charlotte could not hear, Edward got Jasper's attention.

"Her thoughts are very one-track. She's just thinking "Peter" over and over again."

"I suspected that. What I wonder about is when her emotions spike. I need to know how badly she's regressed- Alice worries that she may not fully recover. We need some more information so we can figure out how to help."

Edward nodded, then looked over at Bella. "Would you go stand where Charlotte can see you, Bella? You're a girl, so you shouldn't scare her as much as I would. Carlisle mentioned her aversion to men." Bella squeezed his hand and danced over to Charlotte's chair, moving slightly in front of the window. Focusing on Charlotte and Jasper's thoughts, Edward heard Charlotte's thoughts change at the same time as Jasper felt the spike in her emotions.

_Strangerstranger notJack notPeter oh Peter not Peter woman Jack notJacknotJack Jack Peter… _With the thoughts came a string of images, some of a strange man he assumed was Jack, some of a young man he assumed was Peter. The ones of Jack were all violent- a man with broken beer bottle raised over his head; him throwing Peter against a wall; him with his hands on Charlotte's dress. The ones of Peter were softer, but less clear- him sleeping; him holding Charlotte; him wrapping a jacket around her arms.

Edward motioned at Jasper, indicating that he should calm her down, and the panicked thoughts stopped. Edward turned away. Some of the images had been truly sickening; it made him want to hunt Jack down and rip him apart. Jack was lucky he was already dead. Edward stood perfectly still, calming his temper. Unexpectedly, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, and he looked down to find Bella. _Are you okay? _Edward smiled. "I'm fine, love. Come on; let's get out of the room. We're distressing Charlotte."

Before they could leave the room, though, Edward suddenly stopped, clasping his hands to his head. "Edward!? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he grunted. "Charlotte's thoughts are just… not good."

_Pay attention to what she's thinking. She just saw Jacob. Her levels are through the roof. _Jasper hoped Edward was paying attention; he needed to know what Charlotte was thinking. He needed to know if Charlotte was functioning enough to recognize Peter; if she couldn't, it would destroy both of them. Jasper hadn't told Alice- he didn't want to worry her any more- but he suspected that was the issue at the heart of her visions. He was almost positive that when she saw Charlotte dead, a decision had been made that wouldn't let her recover enough.

Until he knew her thoughts, though, he couldn't see how to help her. Hopefully Edward would be able to shed some light on the issue. Suddenly, Charlotte's fear, panic, and pain levels shot up drastically. Cursing under his breath, Jasper calmed her down. With emotions like that, even a vampire would be screaming. He couldn't let Charlotte suffer through it. As Charlotte's emotions returned to more typical levels, Jasper turned his attention to Edward.

Edward was a motionless statue, Bella equally still on his arm. His eyes looked haggard. Sensing his emotions, Jasper was pretty sure what Charlotte had been thinking. Horror. Anger. Disgust. "Are you okay?" Slowly, Edward roused himself, closely followed by Bella. "Yes. And you were right- she was reliving a memory of Jack. It was far from pleasant." Jasper nodded. He would have to think about how to help Charlotte. Maybe bring up his theory with Alice. For now, he would just focus on keeping her calm so Jacob and Renesmee could come inside the house.

Renesmee whirled into the entrance hall, then straight toward Edward and Bella. "Momma! Daddy! I've missed you so much! Jake and I were having fun at the island, of course, but I hate not seeing you. Isle Esme was so pretty though- it was the perfect place for our honeymoon…" She trailed off as she reached them, preferring to simply show them what she wanted to say. Jacob chuckled, watching his new wife. Their nearly three month long honeymoon had been amazing- even if Edward had almost exploded at the thought. Fortunately, he had decided to get away with Bella instead.

A slight whimper from near the window drew his attention. Looking in the chair beside Jasper, he saw a pale, lovely girl with her knees drawn to her chest. This must be Charlotte. Jacob scowled; Carlisle hadn't spelled it out, but he had said enough for Jacob to figure out what had happened to her. A low growl escaped him at the thought, instantly making all of the vampires in the room turn to look at him. He blushed a bit. "Sorry." Renesmee laughed and ran over to him, then brought him over to Edward and Bella. "Don't be so antisocial, Jake! Come say hi to Momma and Daddy."

Jasper laughed quietly at Renesmee's antics. She was so adorable, even now that she was grown up. Jasper rolled his eyes and faced the door, waiting for _his_ love to come back. Finally, Alice and Carlisle came strolling through the doorway, apparently just finishing a serious conversation. Jasper smiled a bit tiredly at her; constantly controlling Charlotte's emotions was exhausting. Alice danced across the house to him, pirouetting straight into his lap. "Hey Jazz. Long day? I know it was. But don't worry. This will all be over soon. Two days, I think. So guess what? Today, I was out hunting, and…" Jasper smiled, leaning back and letting Alice's chatter wash over him. She always knew how to make even the worst day better; today, all he really needed was her presence.

* * *

Peter raced through the forest, trampling young trees and anything too dumb or too slow to get out of the way. Seeing a gorgeous white mansion looming in the distance, he skidded to a halt. It had taken him nine days to get to wherever in the forest he'd been; he had made the return trip in three. Thank goodness for whatever internal sense it was that kept him from getting lost or he'd have never made it back.

Peter paced back and forth in the small clearing he'd ended up in. He couldn't go back to Charlotte now; not when he was like this. He just knew that there was a way to be human again- but how? He'd tried everything. Peter sat down on the ground, thinking furiously. Digging his muzzle into the dirt, he pushed up the rich loam that made up the forest floor, an instinct he didn't really understand. His thoughts and ideas grew in intensity, furiously fighting for dominance in his head.

Shaking his head fiercely, Peter dispelled all the thoughts. He would get no where like this. Curling up on the forest floor, Peter focused on calming down, on laying all his crazy ideas to rest. As he lay, he felt a strange peace start to overcome him, and instead of fighting it, this time he embraced it.

Peter's fur shot back into him, his claws shortening into finger- and toenails. His teeth shortened and dulled, his ears rounded and moved back to the sides of his head. He felt a peculiar pressure as his eyes returned to their human form and his body shrunk to its normal size. For a few seconds, Peter just stood completely still, in shock. Then he gasped and leapt into the air. "Yeah! I'm back! Hang on Charlotte, I'm coming for you!" Laughing and grinning, he took off for the Cullen house.


	10. New People

**AN: i love this chapter. this is the one you've been waiting for, people! *sniff* i feel so sentimental. my little story is now officially in the double digits. how exciting! read it, love it, review it! emphasis on the review, btw. :]  
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The Cullen family lounged comfortably in the living room, coupled off but still interacting with each other. Jasper and Alice sat together on the left side of their favorite brown couch. Jacob was regaling them all with a tale about Isle Esme and their crazy housekeeper. Alice was rapt, clearly enjoying the story, but Jasper wasn't really listening. Instead, he was basking in the warm, joyful atmosphere in the family. They were all in wonderful moods, happy to be back together, and it showed in their emotions. It was a nice contrast to Charlotte's emotions.

Jasper cringed as her fear spiked yet again, quickly smothering it. Suddenly, her emotions went haywire. Jasper struggled to bring them back to manageable levels as the rest of the family stopped laughing and joking to pay attention to him. He moved to Charlotte's side, knowing that her emotions would be easier for him to contain if he could touch her. As he reached for Charlotte's arm, he looked out the window to see what was making her emotions run wild. Jasper froze as the rest of the family ran over to see what was wrong.

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Running through the forest towards the side of the Cullen's mansion, Peter saw a flash of blonde hair in a window. _Charlotte! _Letting out a joyful cry, Peter bounded over the railing onto the porch and to the window where he'd seen Charlotte. As he reached the window, Peter realized that to get to Charlotte, he would have to run all the way around the house to the door. Growling, Peter glared at the window and grabbed its frame. With a roar, he ripped the window, frame and all, straight out of the wall of the house. As he raised the window over his head, he got his first clear look at Charlotte.

Vaguely, Peter heard the window crashing to the ground, but he didn't care. He only had eyes for Charlotte, his perfect, beautiful Charlotte. He felt the ground fall from underneath his feet, and then he was floating. He stared at her face as he felt everything else that he had ever cared about fall away from him; nothing was more important than Charlotte. He was filled with a complete certainty that it was she that held him to the earth. Gravity was no more. He saw her as if for the first time. "Charlotte," he murmured. "My Charlotte."

And then suddenly Peter could move again, could feel his feet on the ground. Tears streamed down Charlotte's face as Peter swept her into his arms. "You were gone," she sobbed. "I couldn't find you. I didn't know if you would come back." Peter cradled her to his chest, sinking his face into her hair. "I'm back now, Charlotte. I'll always come back." Charlotte shook in his arms, but her tears were tears of joy. Peter was sure of it, knew in a way he could attribute to nothing but the strange feelings he now had for Charlotte. As he clutched Charlotte to him, Peter knew that he would do anything to keep her happy, that he would die without her.

Gradually, Peter became more aware of the world around him. He looked up from Charlotte to notice the six Cullens he knew, as well as four strangers. Wrinkling his nose at the sickly sweet, icy scent filling the room, Peter looked at Jasper and Alice. "Hey." Alice giggled and looked pointedly away. "Hello to you too, Peter. Um… I hate to be the one that has to break it to you. But in case you hadn't noticed, you're not wearing any pants. Or anything at all, actually." Peter looked down and burst out laughing. "Well then I guess someone should bring me some pants. I've no clue where mine are."

Esme came sweeping into the room, a pair of basketball shorts in hand. "Here you go, honey." Peter took the shorts and, holding Charlotte with one arm, used to the other to shimmy them on. "Thanks, Mrs. Cullen."

"No problem, dear. Are you hungry? I could make something."

At that, Peter's stomach gave a ferocious rumble. Peter laughed. "Well I guess that answers your question. I'd love something to eat." Esme smiled and floated into the kitchen, followed by Rosalie and Emmett.

Charlotte made a little noise, and Peter looked down at her to realize she'd fallen asleep in his arms. Grinning, Peter plopped down on the couch. Jasper sat down next to him. "So… Charlotte was pretty out of it while you were gone." Peter cringed; he had expected as much, but it still hurt to think about. "Yeah… I figured." Jasper gave Peter a serious look. "I think that you should get her some help. Like, therapy. You could go with her. But if you ever have to leave again… I mean, it was bad. She was totally out of it for nine days. And then she spent the past four days staring out the window and crying. You can't let that happen again."

Charlotte watched Peter give a curt nod. She decided to keep pretending to be asleep so Peter could talk to Jasper without feeling awkward. "I'll see what I can do. Once she's up to it, I'll ask her about it." Jasper smiled. "Alright. That's really all I wanted to tell you. Jacob here wants to talk to you. He's married into the family- he's one of us." Peter held out a hand to shake as the rest of the family left the room. "I'm Peter. It's nice to meet you, Jacob."

"Hey. Call me Jake. So… can you tell me about your parents?"

"Well… my mother, I lived with her until I was six. She looked a lot like me, but paler and more… feminine. I got my skin tone from my father- he was an Indian. That's all I know about him."

Jacob nodded. "I expected something like that. I have something I need to tell you- it's going to sound weird. But just listen until I'm done, and then you can ask questions, okay?"

Peter consented, motioning for Jacob to go on. Charlotte listened closely, absorbed in Jake's tales. He spoke of Taha Aki, the Quileute tribe's first shape shifter, of werewolves and vampires. Charlotte wondered if she was going crazy, or if maybe she was asleep after all- but then she remembered Jack. How he'd been coming at her, but then that giant wolf had saved her… and Peter had disappeared. Could this really be true?

Charlotte lay in shock as Jacob went on to explain that Peter was, indeed, a werewolf… and that the Cullens were all vampires. Vampires that didn't drink human blood. And the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. They all had those strange golden eyes, and were so inhumanly beautiful and graceful… not to mention, she'd seen them move blindingly fast a couple of times, though she'd passed it off as over-imagination when she had seen it.

Slowly, Charlotte sat up. Peter stroked her hair lovingly. "Did you have a nice nap, love?" She shook her head. "I wasn't asleep- at least, I don't think I was. Is what Jacob said really true?" Peter looked a bit taken aback, but answered. "Well… I guess you had to find out somehow. Yes, I would have to say it's true." Charlotte nodded, then leaned back into Peter. "Alright." Peter looked at her oddly. "Do you have any questions? How are you feeling about this? I know it must be a shock." Charlotte shook her head. "If you say it's true, then it's true. If there's anything else I need to know, I'm sure you'll tell me."

Peter smiled down at her, then gave a little laugh and turned back to Jacob. "I do have one question for you- could you explain the whole imprinting thing a little more?" At that, he directed a significant look at Charlotte. Jacob nodded. "When you imprint… it's like, the whole world falls away and nothing is left but her. Your imprint is the center of your life. It's a little like love at first sight, but much stronger. And not every wolf had an imprint, but many I've known do. Mine is Renesmee, the little one with all the blonde curly hair." Peter nodded and looked at Charlotte. "And if you've imprinted on someone, can you tell her? Can you tell more people than just her?"

"Yeah, of course you tell her. You don't keep secrets from your imprint. And you can tell whoever you like, as long as they know about us."

Charlotte was worried. What if Peter had imprinted on someone else? He would leave her behind and forget about her.

"Charlotte. I have something to tell you. That you need to know. Were you listening to Jake just now?"

Charlotte nodded mutely. "Alright… well I guess I don't really have to explain now. But… you're my imprint."

Charlotte was struck speechless. All of her dreams, all of her hopes… it was too good to be true. She shook her head, looking down. "But… Peter… I'm not good for you… I'm ruined. Used goods. You deserve better. I can't be your imprint. Your imprint is your soul mate."

Peter grasped her chin and tilted her head so that she was looking at him. "No. Never think that, Charlotte. You're perfect, and you're perfect for me. You are not ruined. What Jack did, that wasn't your fault. You can't live with that hanging over your head. I won't let you. You are my imprint, because you are my soul mate. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise."

Charlotte closed her eyes and pinched herself. Surely she was dreaming; this couldn't possibly be happening. Slowly, she cracked her eyes open to see Peter looking exactly as he had when she'd closed her eyes. Charlotte fumbled over her words, shocked beyond belief. "But… Peter… Jack, and… but… and…" Peter laughed and pressed a finger to her mouth. "No buts, Charlotte." Still laughing a little, Peter wrapped his arms around a decidedly confused Charlotte. Peter rubbed her back and she let out a contented sigh, letting Peter lull her into sleep.

Peter smiled happily as he listened to Charlotte's breaths slow, becoming soft and rhythmic as she fell asleep. "She's had a long day," Carlisle murmured, coming up behind him. "She's had a long two weeks. She's exhausted. Try and make sure she gets plenty of rest, okay?" Peter nodded. "Of course." Carlisle sat down on the couch with Peter as the rest of the family filed in. He introduced Renesmee, Jake's imprint, as well as Edward and Bella. "We are not all related by blood or even by marriage, but we chose to become a family. If you want, Peter, you can become a part of our family. I know you will want to be out on your own once you are legal, but until then, we can provide a home for you and Charlotte. I can easily move us to a new city, where you can start over as new people. Would you like that? Or, more importantly I suppose, do you think that would be the best thing for Charlotte?"

Peter's initial reaction was good; he would love to live with these people, who had been more of a family to him than anyone else. But a sad thought occurred to him. "But… Charlotte and I have been missing for two weeks. And I killed a man. Won't there be some sort of punishment there? Questions, at the very least. And if we get back in the system, we'd be separated for sure." Jasper shook his head, popping into the conversation. "Those things won't be a problem. When he says that you can be new people, he means new people. You can have new last names, new birthdays, new parents. You can even have different ages. The system will not be a problem; he could have you listed as adopted. If you want."

Peter grinned. "We'd love to. If you're sure about this… I mean, it's a lot of trouble." Carlisle smiled back at him. "Not at all. We do this every time we move, for all of us. Two more is no problem." Charlotte, Peter knew, would love to stay with the Cullens. She'd have Alice and Jasper, and Carlisle was a doctor- he could find her a therapist. And she'd be better off living with him in the Cullen house than living on the streets, which had been his next option. For Charlotte, Peter would happily ignore the vampire stench. Decision made, Peter looked at Carlisle. "It's a deal."

Alice gave a little cheer and ran over to Peter, hugging his head so as to avoid crushing Charlotte. "I'm so glad you're going to be staying with us! Oh, isn't it just perfect! Now, all those happy visions can come true, and Charlotte can get better, and you can live with us!" Peter let out a great burst of laughter, nearly waking Charlotte. "Okay, Alice. Whatever you say. Now, everyone shoo. Charlotte needs to sleep, and she won't get any rest with all of you being noisy in here." Tittering, the family crept out of the room, leaving Peter alone with his new imprint.

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**AN: see, aren't you happy now? hopefully you are so happy you'll review, because trust me; any review makes my day. :]**


	11. Soup

**AN: hey ppl. guess what? it snowed! we got almost half an inch. it's amazing- everything is all white and sparkling. i've seen snow before, but it's been a couple years, and... it's just great. not to mention we got out of school yesterday and today because of it. although i don't like it for anything other than looking at and getting out of school. i absolutely cannot drive with snow and ice and mess all over the stupid roads. not to mention, its really cold. i hate the cold. yuck. anyways, here's your new chappie. charlotte-centric, lots of thinking. and just so you know- i have absolutely no clue how to cook meat. as a matter of fact, i can't even distinguish one type of meat from another. so you will never find any mention of the stuff in cooking scenes, bc i honestly just don't understand what she would do with it. lol. :]  
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Humming to herself, Charlotte chopped carrots with one hand and stirred the soup with the other. Peter had gone out with Jacob, promising to be back by dinnertime- which meant that dinner needed to be ready when they returned. As she scooped the carrots into the soup and reached for an onion, her humming stopped abruptly as a terrible thought occurred to her. What if she wasn't finished by the time he got back? Frantically, Charlotte grabbed the onion, haphazardly slicing it into manageable pieces. Throwing the onion into the soup, she dashed about the kitchen, collecting fresh green beans, frozen corn, and two stalks of celery. As she chopped, Charlotte sent up a silent prayer, intensely grateful that she had already added everything but the last three ingredients, and that dessert was already in the oven.

She had just finished adding the last of the celery when Jasper walked in. Instantly, she felt her panic evaporate. Peter had told her about his… gift. She found the whole supernatural thing more confusing than Peter did, but she accepted it fairly easily. If Peter said it was true, then it was true, and that was all there was to it. Jasper flashed a smile at her, but his face quickly settled into a frown. "What had you so anxious, Charlotte?" Shaking her head, Charlotte smiled up at him. "Nothing. I'm fine." Still frowning, Jasper exited the kitchen, taking his calming influence with him.

As soon as he was gone, the panic returned, now with new worries. She had just been alone with a guy that wasn't Peter, had talked to a man without permission. She knew that he'd said it was okay, but that was before. Surely things were different now, now that she was his imprint. The rules had changed, she was sure, and she didn't know how. Charlotte gave the soup a quick stir and sunk to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. She knew she shouldn't be afraid of Peter, that he would never hurt her. But she couldn't stop the fear from overtaking her mind, filling her with dread and terror. What if Peter was angry? She didn't know what she would do. What she could do.

Charlotte shook her head fiercely, willing the fear out of her head. Slowly, she stood up, clutching the spoon in her hand, then turned around to face the soup. Shaking her head once more, she started to stir. She couldn't let the soup burn. Charlotte let the rhythmic motion of stirring soothe her frazzled nerves, lull her into a state of peaceful calm. She didn't want to be worried when Peter got home. It would make him unhappy.

She raised the spoon to her mouth and took a small taste. It needed more salt. Charlotte hunted down the salt and pepper, adding little pinches of each until the soup was just right, then put the top on the soup and turned down the heat. It was ready now; she just had to keep it warm for when Peter returned. She moved across the spacious kitchen to the sink. As she washed her hands in the warm water, she stared out the window that was posed just over the sink. The sun was sinking, the sky darkening over the forest. Peter should be home soon.

She drifted out of the kitchen to wait for him at the door, hand posed on the doorknob and eyes trained on the peephole. Suddenly, she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. Flinching, Charlotte felt her eyes dart back to see that the hand belonged to Alice, but she kept her focus on the door. "What are you doing, Charlotte?" Alice's tone was confused, but mostly worried. "I'm waiting for Peter, of course. He should be home soon. It's getting dark."

"I mean, why are you standing at the door like that? You could just wait for him on one of the couches. Watch TV or something. So why?"  
Charlotte shook her head. "So I can open the door for him, be here to greet him the moment he gets home. I can watch TV or whatever later, if that's what Peter wants to do."

Alice gave Charlotte a small smile, full of some hidden meaning that she couldn't discern. Charlotte turned her attention back to the door, staring intently out the peephole. After a few minutes of waiting, she was rewarded by a flash of movement approaching the steps. Excitedly, Charlotte threw the door open to find herself face to face with Peter, Jacob beside him. She grinned but didn't move or speak, unsure about how to greet Peter. Fortunately, he made the decision for her, scooping her up into his arms with a happy exclamation of her name. "I missed you, princess," he murmured into her ear.

Charlotte blushed and giggled as he set her down, keeping hold of her hand. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving! Whatever it is that smells so good, I want some. And then I want seconds. Lead me to the food, darling."

All too aware of Peter's hand in hers, Charlotte showed him to the kitchen, Jacob close behind. "I'll get some soup for you- you can go ahead and sit down at the table if you want." The two men assented, laughing and joking as the plopped down at the already-set kitchen table. Charlotte literally ran into the kitchen, hurriedly filling the two large bowls she'd already laid out. Wincing, she carried the steaming basins, hot on her fingers, to the table. She set the biggest in front of Peter and the other in front of Jacob, then retreated into the kitchen to fix drinks.

As she put ice in their glasses, she was faced with a sudden dilemma. What would Jacob want to drink? She knew Peter would want water, but Jacob was an unknown variable in the equation. Charlotte had no clue what he liked to drink, or how he would react if she got him the wrong thing. A booming laugh interrupted her thoughts, and she remembered that Peter could protect her from anything now. Even huge, unknown men that she found a bit terrifying.

Problem resolved, she filled both glasses with water, then rushed them to Peter and Jacob. After she set their glasses down within easy reach, Charlotte withdrew into a corner of the dining room, out of their immediate line of sight but still within easy hearing range, where she could tend to things like refills and second servings. She put her head down and clasped her hands in front of her, just like she would if she were serving Jack without Peter around to hide with.

"Charlotte?" Peter's voice instantly grabbed her attention, and she tensed, ready to get him whatever it was he wanted. "Come here, sweetie." Quietly, hesitantly, Charlotte approached the table. "What are you doing? Why were you over there in the corner, love?" She paled; did he want her to leave? "I'm sorry. I can wait in the kitchen." Peter gazed at her openmouthed. "What are you talking about? You always eat with me." Charlotte stared back, confused. "But… Jacob. And…" She trailed off, unsure if she should bring up imprinting, the changing rules. Peter stood up, wrapping her in his arms. "And what?" Charlotte shook her head. "Nothing." Peter gave her an indecipherable look, but didn't press the matter. "Sit down with me, Char. You're not a maid or a servant. You can eat with me, and with Jacob too."

Bewildered, Charlotte took the seat next to Peter, scooting her chair so that she was closer to him. She placed a hand on his knee as he resumed eating, reverting back to the way things had been with Jack before Peter came along. Finally, Jacob broke the silence. "So, Charlotte… what did you do while Peter and I were out?" Charlotte shot a panicked look at Peter, not knowing whether or not she was allowed to talk to Jacob. Peter put an arm around her and drew her into his side, his fingers rubbing her arm in a way that was incredibly soothing, but made her strangely aware of the way his hands felt on her skin. "It's okay, Charlotte. You can talk to him if you want." Charlotte beamed up at Peter; he always knew what she needed. He knew everything. After an encouraging smile from Peter, she mustered enough courage to respond. "I cooked, mostly. I made soup, of course. And cobbler for dessert."

Peter's face lit up. "What kind? Please tell me it's peach. Peach is my favorite." Charlotte laughed internally; of course it was peach. She knew it was his favorite. She said as much and Peter laughed, then laid a kiss on her forehead. Jacob grinned from across the table. "What's your favorite, Charlotte?" Charlotte opened her mouth to respond, then stopped. Did she even have a favorite? She searched her memories, then came to a sudden realization. "Peach, because it's Peter's favorite." Charlotte was struck with just how true the statement was; as a matter of fact, when she really thought about it, all of Peter's favorites were her favorites. He loved the outdoors, and so did she. His favorite color was green, and so was hers. She could vaguely remember a time when it had been purple; but that was a long time ago, and this was now. This was Peter.

She was brought back to the present by the sound of slurping; Peter and Jacob had nearly finished their soup. Charlotte leapt up, then dashed into the kitchen to fix new bowls. She returned just as they'd finished, and she breathed a sigh of relief that her timing had been right. Peter frowned, getting up and holding her chin so that she was looking into his eyes. "Charlotte, love. You don't have to wait on me. I won't be angry if I have to get my own soup, or fill my own glass. I'm not Jack, Charlotte." Charlotte gulped, tears welling up in her eyes. "I just want you to be happy. And, I'm afraid… that you might get angry." Peter shook his head, pulling her to his chest. "Having dinner ready when I get home, having my favorite cobbler for dessert- those things are fleeting. They make me happy, yes, but I can be happy without them. I don't need them to be happy." His voice ran over her skin like caresses as he sat down, positioning Charlotte so that she was straddling him, so that she could see his face.

"What I need to be happy is you. I need you, and I need you to be happy. And unafraid. There is never any reason for you to be afraid of me, Char. I would never hurt you, not like Jack. I am not Jack. I'm Peter. And, Charlotte?" He used her name as a question, a thousand questions in one word, asking her if she understood, if she was okay, if she could handle this. She nodded. "I love you. It's going to take you a while to understand what that really means, but that's okay. I love you anyway, no matter what. I swear."

Charlotte didn't understand, not really. She was his imprint- that meant Peter owned her now, right? Even if it didn't, she knew that she belonged to Peter. And if she belonged to him, then serving him was her job. She didn't understand why that wasn't enough to make him happy. She didn't know how she could ever understand when things were so uncertain. The rules had changed, and she didn't know how. Briefly, she considered voicing her concerns to Peter. But before she could ask Peter for more explanation, for solid rules that she could memorize and follow, she realized that Jacob was still in the room and lost her nerve. So she just nodded blankly, hoping that Peter wouldn't see through her.

And sort of hoping he would.

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**AN: and for all you ppl who read this and don't review, i want you to put yourself in my shoes for a second. sure, i love to write and this is more for myself than anything else. but. i am not getting any feed back at all. having two reviews is better than no reviews, but it still sucks. it's like writing a whole book and then it only sells two copies. even if you don't really like it, that's okay. just leave me a little feedback so i can improve. thank you! :]**


	12. Help

**AN: hello world. i know it took a little bit, but here is ch. 12. from now on, updates will prolly be about a week apart. just to warn you. also, my story is coming to a close- its not there yet, but there's only two or three chappies left in my outline. so we'll see. :] **

**in other news, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. the reviews were so inspiring and helpful. :] and thank you for putting up with my little rant last time. lol. **

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The sounds of the television played faintly in the background, but Peter paid them no attention. Gently, he stroked Charlotte's hair, calming the little whimpers and cries that escaped her mouth as she dreamed. He had let her fall asleep in his lap while they sat on the couch earlier, in hopes that it would lessen the severity of her nightmares, and so far it was working. The nightmares didn't seem to be as bad if he stayed awake while she slept.

Peter looked up when he smelled the unmistakable icy scent of one of the Cullens entering the room. "Hey Jasper." Jasper slid over to sit beside Peter, directing a significant look at Charlotte as he sat down. "We've got something to talk about." Peter shifted Charlotte into a more comfortable looking position. "Shoot." Jasper leaned in a little, a serious look on his face. "We've got to do something about Charlotte. You don't have a clue what living in her emotional climate is like; it's driving me crazy. She lives in a perpetual state of fear and panic, eased by nothing but you and even then not that much. The whole house is on edge. Everyone's afraid to approach her because they're afraid of setting one of her panic attacks off."

Peter grimaced. "I just don't know what to do about it. I want to suggest therapy, but I want it to be her own choice, and it just can't be if I'm the one who brings it up. And besides, that has to wait until we move and get fakes and we can't do that until I've got my phasing under control. Since I still can't even get in a car without phasing. It just feels so wrong… I have to have better control before we can join the rest of the world." Jasper nodded, a deep frown etched into his forehead. "I know. And I know you hate to do this, but you need to give Charlotte permission to hang out with and talk to all of us. Or she's going to keep panicking every time one of us so much as looks at her. We'll have to put therapy off for a while, but maybe if she'd let us talk to her… it might help."

"I will, I guess…" Peter trailed off, running a hand through his hair agitatedly. "I just…. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help her. And I can't even stay with her all the time, because I have to get my phasing under control- I swear I almost lost it at the dinner table today. Any strong emotion can set it off- I don't actually have to be angry, you know. I just… This is killing me, man. She's my imprint, and she's hurt. It literally makes me feel like someone is ripping off an arm or something. I can't take this much longer than you can."

Jasper nodded silently, knowing exactly how Peter felt. "I'll tell her. But you've got to try and help. Maybe with your…" Peter trailed off, waving his hand in an unsure motion. "Talent. Maybe you'll help. Alice, maybe, too. She's practically in love with Alice. Just… just give it a try. Talk to her or whatever." Jasper gave a small smile, and Peter felt a wave of peace and calm wash over him. "Okay. I'll try tomorrow while you're out with Jacob. The best thing you can do for her right now is focus on getting control. I'll try to help with the panic attacks. Now get some sleep, man. You can't help Charlotte if you're falling asleep standing up all day." Peter chuckled, and Jasper left the room, flipping the lights off as he exited.

Peter shifted so that he was leaning back more comfortably, then pulled Charlotte closer to his chest. "Goodnight, love," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. A tiny sound of contentment escaped her sleeping form, and a smile appeared on her face. Peter mirrored her smile, closing his eyes and slipping off into darkness.

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A shaft of light slowly crept across Charlotte's face, finally reaching her eyes. Instantly, she sat up and blinked the heavy sleep out of her eyes, yawning and stretching. She turned around to see Peter, fast asleep on the couch and snoring loudly. The light illuminated his face, making his dark skin almost glow. Charlotte sighed. Peter was… beautiful. In a way that she would never be. Slowly, she stood up, then glided into the kitchen to make breakfast.

She turned on the stovetop, placing a pan on the eye so it could heat up. Singing a lullaby, the one she saved for when Peter couldn't sleep, she danced around the kitchen, pulling eggs out of the refrigerator and flour out of the pantry. As she mixed the pancake batter, she felt a familiar pair of arms come around her waist. Peter kissed the top of her head. "Good morning, princess." Charlotte laughed and waved the spatula at him. "I'm making pancakes. Chocolate chip, your favorite." She spooned batter onto the pan, forming one gigantic, perfectly round pancake, and sprinkled chocolate chips all over it. "I made a triple batch, so there should be enough for eight big ones for you and two small for me. And seven big ones for Jacob, whenever he decides to eat."

Peter smiled, then ruffled her hair a bit. "Sounds delicious. I'll set the table. You're cooking; it's only fair." Charlotte smiled as she went back to cooking. It felt weird when Peter helped her work, but it didn't feel especially bad. Just strange. Still singing the lullaby, she flipped the pancake onto the serving platter she had gotten out for Peter to use as a plate. Apparently, being a werewolf made you really hungry, so she had to make sure Peter got enough food.

A loud clunking noise reverberated from the breakfast room, making Charlotte jump. "Peter! What happened? Are you okay?" Peter's deep, unmistakable laugh soothed her, assuring her everything was fine. "I'm okay sweetie. I just dropped the table." Charlotte frowned, lifting the last pancake onto the plate and then heading into the breakfast room. "How did you drop the table?" Peter grinned sheepishly, looking incredibly like a small child who had been caught stealing cookies. "Well… I realized that I could pick up the chair, so then I decided to pick up the table. And it was easy, except then I decided to see if I could throw it up and catch it. Only then Emmett-" Peter cut off as he noticed Emmett grinning and waving just outside the window. Charlotte, fighting back laughter, urged him on. "Well, he popped up in the window there, and I got distracted, and I, um… Didn't catch it."

Charlotte burst out laughing, bending over and clutching her sides. Peter's laughter joined hers, followed by Emmett's. Charlotte, still giggling a little, wiped her eyes and stood up, struggling to keep a straight face. "I'll go get the pancakes, and Peter," A small laugh escaped despite her efforts. "Try not to break the table." Peter, trying to look appropriately ashamed, followed her into the kitchen. "I'll get the drinks, Charlotte. Jake! Get in here and get your plate!"

Planting a kiss on Charlotte's uncertain face, he murmured, "We've got it covered, sweetie. You're not a maid, remember? We're big boys now. We can help bring food into the breakfast room even if we can't cook it." Charlotte smiled, then stood on her tiptoes to reward him with a kiss on the nose. Peter laughed, then got busy making drinks while Charlotte bustled around the kitchen, turning off the stove and grabbing their food.

Jacob burst into the kitchen, diving for his plate. Stuffing a pancake into his mouth, he carried the plate into the breakfast room. Renesmee promptly floated in to sit with him, looking a bit disgusted at the mess on his face. Charlotte laughed. Jacob ate like a wild animal. Balancing the plates in her arms, she slowly made her way into the breakfast room, Peter close behind her. She set his plate down at the head of the table, then sat down on the left of him. He'd told her to eat with him the day before, so she knew it was okay. Peter placed a glass of orange juice in front of her. "I figured you'd want what I was having." Charlotte smiled; Peter knew her so well. "As always."

Charlotte picked at her food as Peter and Jacob wolfed the pancakes down. Peter stopped eating to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "You okay, doll?" Beaming up at him, Charlotte responded. "I'm fine. I'm just not that hungry. Probably because I drank all that orange juice before I started." And it was true; she really wasn't hungry. She suspected the real reason was because she wasn't used to eating so much, though. Before, she might easily go three or four days before food, and now she was expected to eat three meals a day. It hurt her stomach.

Peter nodded, satisfied with her explanation, and scooted her chair closer so that she could lean into him. He stroked her hair with his free hand as he ate. Charlotte snuggled up into him, eventually getting close enough that she was barely in her chair at all anymore. He laughed. "You want to sit in my lap?" Charlotte nodded, a wide smile on her face, and Peter picked her up and set her in his lap, positioning himself so that he could still eat without getting food in her hair.

Finally, Peter finished eating. Looking around, he realized that Jacob and Renesmee had disappeared. Oh well; he could find Jake later. First, he needed to fulfill his promise to Jasper. "Charlotte?"

"Yes, Peter?"

"You can talk to all of the Cullens, you know. Even the guys. And if you want, you can be alone with them. I trust you, and I trust all of them. You'll be fine, I promise."

Charlotte gave him a dazzling smile. "You mean I get to have friends again?" Peter gave a little chuckle, then turned more serious. "Of course you can. There was never a time you couldn't. You don't have to be afraid of them, love." Charlotte, so happy he could practically feel it radiating out of her, wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I love you." Peter grinned. "I love you too, Char." With that, he pulled her up out of the chair, standing up. He held both of her hands and looked into her eyes. "I have to go find Jake now, so I can practice. I've got to work on my control so we can get out of here. But I'll be back soon, okay? And remember what I told you. You can have fun while I'm gone."

Charlotte nodded, leaning into his embrace. He rubbed her back slowly, soothing the tense muscles that came from stressing about everything. Charlotte mumbled something unintelligible into his chest. "What did you say?" She lifted her face so that he could see it, then jumped up a little and kissed his cheek. "Go have fun with Jacob." Peter smiled and let go of her, giving her one final squeeze before he started his search for Jacob.

As soon as he was gone, Charlotte slid to the floor, curling up into a ball. She missed him already. Sighing, she closed her eyes, trying not to let the aching loneliness get to her.

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**Review! don't make me give you a lecture again! ;]**


	13. Talking

**AN: okay, so i know i said it would be about a week. but that was a lie, bc it's only actually been a couple of days. i couldn't help it- i wrote the outline, and then i just had to write the chapter. i got so into it i didn't realize the time. so now it's done! i'll start the next chappie asap bc 13 is an unlucky number so i need to get 14 done soon. lol. well, enjoy! and thank you once again to those of you who reviewed. i really appreciated it. nothing makes me want to write more than ppl who like my story. :]  
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Jasper sat across from Carlisle, his arms resting on the desk between them. "Peter did as I asked… I should be able to approach her now." Carlisle tapped his pen on the desk thoughtfully, then asked the question that had been hanging in the air all morning. "Will the rest of us be able to? What does Alice say? When can we talk to her? Esme is just dying to spend some time with Charlotte. Even Rosalie is worried about her."

"Yes. Alice says she'll be able to handle everyone after I've talked to her- but she says we have to be careful not to overwhelm her. Not more than two or three of us with her at once. And never all of us in the same room."

Carlisle nodded. "Very well. I'll keep everyone out until you think she's ready. Just let me know. I'm glad that we can be a part of things now; I must admit I don't like having someone in my house that I can't cure. It's the doctor in me, I suppose." Jasper laughed, but quickly sobered. "I suppose. I've got to go talk to her now, I guess. She's sending some pretty intense feelings my way." Carlisle gave a small smile, then waved him out. "Go on, then. I'm sure Esme is very impatient."

Rising up, Jasper left the study, flying downstairs towards the source of all the loneliness and misery he was feeling. He found Charlotte curled up in a ball on the floor underneath the breakfast table, staring off into nothing. Despair radiated off her in waves, stopping Jasper in his tracks for a moment. Carefully, he manipulated her feelings to be slightly less intense, so that he could stand to be near her.

"Charlotte?" Her only response was a slight feeling of panic, which she smothered before he could get to it. "Charlotte, it's Jasper. I'm going to come sit with you, alright?" As he crawled underneath the table, he deftly lessened the severity of her emotions once more, then completely suppressed fear and panic. He sat down beside her, then gently sat her up, leaning her against the wall for support.

Charlotte looked up at him, her eyes wide and cheeks wet. "I'm sorry." Jasper smiled kindly and looped an arm around her shoulders. "Nothing to be sorry about, darlin'." As Charlotte began to calm down a little on her own, he cautiously influenced her emotions to make her feel more open and talkative, still keeping a tight lid on her fear and panic. He waited until he was satisfied her emotions were under control, then started to speak. "So… How are you feeling, Charlotte?"

It was a pointless question- he knew exactly how she was feeling. But sometimes, saying it out loud helped. "I'm… I'm fine. I just… I just miss Peter. When he's gone." A long pause followed, but Jasper could tell she was not finished. "I mean… I know he's coming back. He said so, so it must be true. I just…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I hate being so… _alone_." Jasper understood her feelings exactly; every second that went by without Alice was pure torture. He had realized long ago that he didn't even exist without her.

He said as much, and was rewarded by a small spark of hope in Charlotte's eyes. "Really?" He nodded, and Charlotte smiled. "I know you know how I feel, but I didn't know that you really understood, you know?" Jasper gave a small smile. "I do, you know. It's part of being who I am. But enough of me- let's talk about you. Tell me about Peter."

At the mention of his name, Charlotte's face lit up. "Peter…" She sighed happily, a smile playing around her lips as she spoke. "Peter is amazing. I…" She shook her head, searching for words. "I mean, it's not just that he saved me from Jack. I loved him before that, I'd love him no matter what. Sometimes, I think I would love him if he was Jack. You know?" Charlotte turned to look Jasper in the eyes, her face serious. "Peter is what made Jack worth it. If I could go back and change things, stay in the group home or something- I swear I wouldn't. Not if it meant not meeting Peter."

Jasper understood; he'd relive Maria a thousand times over if it would ensure meeting Alice. "What is it about Peter that makes you feel that way?" Charlotte opened her mouth, then closed it, obviously giving the answer some thought. "I think… I think a lot of it is the little things. Like, I don't think Peter has ever hit me. Ever. Not even when I deserved it, like if I back talked or did something without asking when I knew I should. And… he always stops, when he gets angry. It scares me when he gets angry- even though he's never angry at me. It's still scary. But he stops, and when the sides of his eyes stop being so tight, I know he isn't angry anymore. He does it for me, you know?" Jasper nodded, but Charlotte didn't seem to even notice he was there anymore. She had a faraway look in her eyes, and she spoke as if to herself.

"Other things, too. Like how his eyes shine when he laughs, and how he's always taking care of me. Always looking out for me. And how he lets me have friends, even back when having friends was hard because they always asked questions. And how I'm the first thing he thinks about when he wakes up in the morning. How he's willing to sit in the bathroom while I shower because I'm too afraid to do it by myself. How he doesn't yell at me, and how he always knows what I need or what I'm feeling. And he's always touching me- hugging me, holding me, kissing my forehead. He makes me feel happy." She paused. "He makes me feel loved."

Jasper smiled; she was exuding love and happiness. It made for a wonderful atmosphere. Suddenly, Charlotte swallowed hard and the mood changed. "He's not Jack, you know. He reminds me, when I forget. I just… It's hard, even though I know Jack's gone. I keep…" Her faced darkened, and she brought her knees up to her chest. "I keep waiting for him to come back. Even though I know he won't. And I don't know what to do, because without Jack, who is going to take his place?" Her voice lowered so that it would have been almost inaudible to a human. "It used to be me and Peter against the world. Against Jack. But now there's no Jack, and Peter imprinted on me, which means he owns me. And he won't-" She cut off, swallowing thickly, an intense longing filling the air.

"He won't tell me what to do. I don't know the rules, and they've changed, but I just don't know how. Peter won't tell me the rules." Charlotte shook her head, wiping her face on her sleeve. "How am I supposed to know if I break one?" she cried. "I can't follow the rules if I don't know what they are. Jack always used to get so mad if I broke the rules, but he'd never tell me what they were. I was just supposed to know. And they were always changing, so what was okay one day was bad the next. And it's the same thing all over again. I'm too afraid to do anything, because I don't want Peter to be angry. I don't want to disappoint him. I want to be good."

Charlotte sniffled, and Jasper pulled her closer. "It's going to be okay, Charlotte. Peter would never hurt you. Not ever. And I'm the one to know. And I'm sure that he'll explain the rules to you soon- he's probably been fighting with himself over giving them to you. He doesn't like to tell you what to do, you know. Peter wants you to be your own person." Charlotte leaned into his chest. "I know, and I really try to go it alone. But… I just… sometimes, I feel like I'm panicking for no reason, but I just can't stop it. And I need Peter to fix me. I'm just… I'm afraid to ask. I don't want to bother him, you know? He has things that are so much more important than me to take care of. And I don't want him to worry. I want Peter to be happy."

Jasper rubbed her back, subtly calming her as he did so. "I know, Charlotte. But don't worry. You'll get through this. Maybe it'll take a while, but that's okay." She smiled up at him, her cheeks still wet, but her outlook brighter. "Thanks, Jasper. Sorry for getting your shirt wet." Jasper laughed and slid the table away so that he could stand up, then helped Charlotte up. "Trust me, I don't mind." He pulled Charlotte into a hug, then spoke so softly and quickly she had no hope of hearing. "She's good. Y'all can come down now. Not everyone, though."

Releasing Charlotte, he led her into the living area, just in time to see Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Esme file in. Charlotte smiled shyly at Rosalie and Emmett, who greeted her and then curled up together on one of the couches. Alice, of course, ran straight at them, giving Charlotte a big hug and then falling into Jasper's arms. Jasper murmured something Charlotte couldn't catch into Alice's ear, then let go of her, keeping hold of her hand.

Esme came up to Charlotte with a happy smile on her face, then wrapped Charlotte in a hug. "How are you doing, dear?" Charlotte smiled cautiously. "Good, I guess." Esme smiled down at her. "Are you hungry? It's nearly eleven o'clock, and you and Peter had breakfast at six. I could make you lunch." At the word lunch, Charlotte gasped, but Alice cut in quickly. "Don't worry, Charlotte. They won't be home until six or so. You don't have to make lunch. And before you ask- yes, you have time to make cheesecake. It'll take eight hours before it's done completely but you can always make Peter wait a little after dinner before you serve it."

Charlotte gave a little whoop of joy, her tinkling laugh filling the air with the sound of bells. She danced into the kitchen, Esme close behind her. "Can I help, dear?" Charlotte nodded and Esme asked her what she needed. In an instant, all of the ingredients and pans she would need were in front of her. "Whoa." Esme laughed. "One of the perks of being a vampire, you know." Charlotte shook her head in amazement and preheated the oven. "I'm going to make cheesecake from a recipe I memorized a long time ago. Have you ever made cheesecake?"

Esme shook her head. "Well, I can teach you. First, I need you to butter the inside of the springform pan while I mix these dry ingredients together…" Charlotte's instructions droned on. Esme grinned as she worked, happy to spend time with her newly adopted, fragile human daughter.

In the other room, Jasper smiled. "They're getting along well, Alice." Alice laughed. "I told you they would. Don't be such a worrywart." Jasper chuckled and ruffled a hand through Alice's short hair. "Don't be such a know it all." Alice giggled and poked him in the side. "I can be a know it all if I want to, because I do know it all." Jasper rolled his eyes and plopped Alice into his lap, nuzzling his nose against her cheek. "I love you, you know." Alice smiled and turned so that she could see his face. "I'd say that I love you too, but let's face it… you already know it." Jasper smiled and pulled Alice closer. "I know it."

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**AN: see, there's hope for charlotte after all! idk how many chappies are left but not too many. i'll try and get my outline more concrete. who knows, i may stretch this out a bit more. prolly not more than three, most likely two, though. *sniff* i'm gonna miss this story. it's my baby. lol. **


	14. Shower Time

**AN: sup. i got ch. fourteen out, which means my story is no longer unlucky. whoo hoo! so i haven't gotten very far on my end-of-story outline, which means i still have no clue how much longer this will be. the end is coming, though. loose ends are being wrapped up! and i'm planning on an epilogue, too, even though i didn't bother with a prologue. lol. anywho, i hope you like the chapter!**

**also: about a million thanks to FaithTrustPixieDust01****. your reviews inspire me!  
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Peter made his way towards the house as quickly as he could, eager to get back to Charlotte. He had just suffered through another round of trying-to-get-in-a-car-without-panicking-and-phasing and not much progress had been made. It was incredibly frustrating- Jacob hadn't had any trouble with vehicles at all, and Peter could barely get close to one. Neither one of them could figure out why.

As he started up the steps, Peter found his path blocked by Jasper. Jasper took one look at Peter's filthy, half-naked appearance and burst into laughter. "Nice look, man." Peter rolled his eyes. "Shut up." Jasper shook his head, chuckling, and pointed Peter in the direction of a chair on the front porch. "You're gonna want to be sitting when I tell you this." Instantly, worry for Charlotte flared in Peter's mind, but Jasper shook his head. "She's okay. At least, physically. And I talked to her today, like you asked me to. And we made some progress. But I have some news for you I doubt you're going to like."

Frowning, Peter took a seat, then waved his hand impatiently, indicating that Jasper should continue the story. "Get on with it, then." Jasper stuck his hands in his pockets and shifted uncomfortably. "Alright. So, first we talked about how she misses you when you're gone, and then-" Seeing Peter's face, Jasper cut off. "No, she understands why you can't be there all the time. But that doesn't mean she has to like it. Neither do you, so don't be a hypocrite. Anyways, after that we talked about you. She loves you, man, she really does, but… There's a good bit of hero worship in there too. She's under the impression that you own her. Which brings us to the next thing."

Peter growled. "She thinks I own her? How on Earth can I get her to understand that she doesn't belong to anyone? I don't want her to worship me." Jasper made a soothing motion with his hands. "Calm down. You don't wanna scratch up Esme's porch. Let me finish. Yes, she does think that. But that's a battle for another day. The idea makes her feel happier, more secure. So let her have that, okay? The thing I have to tell you is this: She wants some rules." Peter opened his mouth, but Jasper cut him off, raising a hand in the universal gesture for "shut up."

"Not just wants. Needs. The reason she keeps having panic attacks is because she's absolutely terrified of breaking the rules. She thinks that you've made some, and that you just won't tell her. Think about how Jack treated her, Peter. She needs some structure, something stable to rely on. You can give her that. Just make up five or six rules- stuff she does anyway, things that are in her best interest- and write them down. Then give her the paper. That way the rules are set in stone, so she'll always know what they are. Maybe one day, she won't need them. But right now… She isn't going to get better if she's living her life in fear. Give her what she needs."

Peter leaned back in the chair, absorbed in his thoughts. If Jasper said rules were what she needed… She was his imprint. He had to give her what she needed. But he didn't want to. He wanted Charlotte to be her own person; he wanted her to be happy and confident and carefree. But it seemed that she could not obtain both at the same time.

Grudgingly, Peter assented. "I'll do it. If you're absolutely sure this is what she needs. What she wants." Jasper nodded mutely, and Peter sighed. "Very well. I'll come up with some tonight after she falls asleep." Jasper smiled and patted him on the back. "You're going to be glad you did, Peter. I know you don't like this. But she will."

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Peter and Charlotte reclined in a love seat, completely stuffed after a full meal of homemade ravioli and cheesecake. Peter was beginning to drift off when Charlotte suddenly jumped up. "Peter! I just remembered that I need to shower." Peter rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned as he got up. "Okay, doll. I'm coming." He slid his hand into hers and led her up the stairs to Alice's room, which had pretty much become their room. Peter would have felt guilty, but she didn't exactly need it for sleeping, which was all they used it for. That and its lovely, spa-styled bathroom.

They walked into the bathroom and Peter locked the door behind them. Charlotte set a towel out on the counter and started the water in the shower. Peter stared at the floor as she undressed. He wasn't sure why he did it; it wasn't like he hadn't seen her naked. And he helped her dress and undress on a fairly regular basis. But as much as he wanted to enjoy the view, he didn't want to take advantage of her like that. That was something Jack would do, not him.

Finally, Charlotte stepped into the shower. She cautiously closed the curtain and moved underneath the water.

_Charlotte reached for the shampoo, but it wasn't there. Frowning, she realized she must have left it on the counter. She opened the shower curtain to find herself face to face with Jack, the shampoo bottle in his hands. "Looking for something?" He taunted her. Suddenly, the oily expression on his face changed to a cruel, angry one. "Let me help you find it," he growled, pulling her out of the shower by her neck._

Charlotte whimpered, clutching the shampoo to her chest. "Peter?" His name came out as little more than a frightened squeak. Peter's voice, deep and reassuring, instantly soothed her fears. "It's okay, Charlotte. I'm right here." Charlotte worked to calm down, reminding herself that Jack was gone and couldn't hurt her anymore. That Peter was there to protect her.

Slowly, Charlotte's anxiety started to melt away. She began to wash her hair, reveling in the massage-like feeling of her fingers against her scalp. Carefully, she rinsed the soap out of her hair.

_Jack perched on the toilet seat, staring at Charlotte while she showered. He'd ripped off the curtain and announced that it was time for Charlotte to take a shower… with supervision. Charlotte trembled as she struggled to pretend he wasn't there, forcing herself to go through the motions. Out of the corner of her eye, she snuck a glance at Jack. He cackled. "Get on with it, girlie." _

Charlotte shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself, and backed into the corner of the shower. Her hands shaking, she fought to get the conditioner in her hair. She focused on calming her breathing as she rinsed it out, but she caught a movement from outside the shower and the world started to spin.

_Jack laughed cruelly as he threw her into the shower, slamming her head against the aged and filthy tile. "I've always wanted to christen this shower. Ava never would, you know, but I'm thinking that you'll come around soon enough. What do you say?" Another manic laugh erupted out of him as he grabbed her wrists in one hand and started to rip off her clothing with another. She screamed, trying to kick him off, but that only served to amuse him further. "That's right, girlie. I like 'em feisty." _

Uncontrollable tears streamed down Charlotte's face. She sank to the floor of the shower, clutching her knees to her chest. The walls seemed to close in on her and her breathing started to come in loud gasps. Suddenly, the shower curtain was thrust open and Charlotte screamed before she realized it was Peter.

Peter turned off the water and wrapped Charlotte in a towel, covering her as best as he could before lifting her into his arms. Gently, he stroked her hair, murmuring softly into her ear. He sat down on the floor of the shower and leaned back against the wall, keeping Charlotte safely situated in his lap. The water soaked through his clothes, but he didn't care. Charlotte needed this.

Gradually, Charlotte's shaking form stilled. Peter wiped off her wet face with his hand, looking down at her worriedly. Charlotte sniffled and pressed her face into his chest. Peter pulled her closer, rubbing her back soothingly. "It's alright. You're gonna be fine, love. I've got you now." She looked up at him, her face covered in emotions he had trouble reading. Eventually, her emotions consolidated into one that he could easily read: guilt. "Peter…I'm really sor-" He cut her off, pressing a finger to her lips. "There's nothing to be sorry for, love." She looked skeptical, but he shook his head. "It's not your fault," he said firmly.

Charlotte gave him a shaky smile. "Come on, love. Let's get up and get you dressed. And I need to get out of these wet clothes. I'm getting wrinkly." Charlotte rewarded him with a laugh and a more confident smile. Unsteadily, she tried to pull herself up and promptly fell back into Peter's lap. He laughed and pulled her up himself, keeping a steady supporting arm under her so she could walk.

The two finally made it out of the shower, stumbling onto the tile floor. Charlotte laughed as they slid on the wet floor, nearly falling over. She fell into Peter and all of a sudden he was kissing her, and she was surprised but then she was kissing him back. One of his hands slid into her hair, the other holding her towel up as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her hands into his hair.

Finally, Peter pulled away, keeping Charlotte close to him. He moved his lips to her ear, his breath hot against her skin. "I love you," he murmured. Charlotte was filled with a joy she had never felt so much of before. "I love you, too." Gently, Peter released her, keeping an arm around her waist. "Come on, doll. You need to get some clothes on." At the last words, he eyed her wet, scantily clad form and his eyes got a strange, feral glint to them.

Charlotte shuddered, goose bumps popping up on her skin, but the feeling was far from bad. She knew Peter's expression should probably scare her, but fear was the farthest thing from her mind right then. With a little shiver, she began moving out of the room, practically glued to Peter's side.

Quickly, she pulled on the light blue nightgown Alice had laid out on the bed, while Peter dried off and pulled on some pajama pants. He'd never slept in pajamas before moving into the Cullen's house, but Alice had insisted on buying him a ton and he felt guilty if he didn't wear them. He turned around just in time to catch Charlotte's deep yawn. "Come on, doll. Bedtime." She smiled and plopped down on the bed, waiting for him.

He joined her and she snuggled into his arms, falling asleep almost instantly. Charlotte's panic attacks always left her exhausted. Peter kissed her forehead and murmured his goodnight, then got to work crafting the list of rules he'd promised Jasper he would make.

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**AN: IF YOU WANT SOME EXPLANATION OF THE WHOLE RULES THING READ THIS! okay, so i would like to mention something to you. i am very (VERY!) loosely basing this story on the real life experiences of a foster kid who stayed with us for a while. basically, she had an abusive foster father and bc of it she suffered from PTSD. she had been alone with the guy (no real life Peter to the rescue), but the whole rules thing was something she mentioned- like, she wanted some definite rules so that she'd know what to do. of course, she was looking to my parents for them, but i figured it only made sense for Charlotte to look to Peter for them. i'm also basing Charlotte's reactions off my psychology class, so if she seems too textbook, sorry! i just figured id let you know before i got some pm's saying "what the heck?? rules?? what century is this again??" because i have a decent base for this. lol. **


	15. Always

**AN: hello darlings. this is actually the last chapter, but the story isn't over yet. an epilogue is in the near future. im going to miss this story, but its time i moved on to other things! i'll be putting up some more mortal instruments alec/isabelle drabble at some point, and i have an idea for another story which i will prolly start fairly soon. it'll be OC centric, most likely, like this one is. cuz i have trouble making characters canon. lol. but anyways, enjoy this almost-the-end chapter! and if you have some serious ideas for the epilogue, let me know and i might use them. i already pretty much know what i'm gonna write, but i'm open to suggestions! and as always, review :]  
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Charlotte curled into Peter, relishing his supernatural warmth. She sighed as she watched sunlight stream in from the windows, dust motes dancing in light. It was a rare sunny day, and the weather looked perfectly lovely. But despite the sun, temperatures were still well below freezing, so Charlotte and therefore Peter had been relegated to the living room while everyone else played in the snow. Still, Charlotte didn't mind too much. She was happy just to be wherever Peter was.

Suddenly, Peter turned to look at her, a serious look on his face. "Charlotte, I have something I want to ask you." Charlotte smiled at him, but her expression was worried. After a second, she nodded, waiting for him to go on. His face nervous, Peter placed his hands on Charlotte's. "Charlotte, darling… It has come to my attention that you want some rules." Charlotte nodded fiercely, her excitement barely contained. Peter smiled and continued. "Well, I've written them down for you. If you would like to have them."

Charlotte giggled, then threw her arms around Peter, her face bright and beaming. "Oh, thank you, Peter! Thank you!" The relief and joy were heavy in her voice, which worried Peter but at the same time made him grin. He could not help but celebrate at his imprint's happiness. Digging in his back pocket, he pulled out a folded sheet of paper, slightly rumpled, and handed it to Charlotte.

Charlotte unfolded the rules like a child unwrapping a Christmas present, her delight clear on her face. Peter picked her up and set her in his lap so he could read the rules from over her shoulder. "We can talk about each of them, so I can be sure you know what they mean, okay?" Charlotte laughed, elated. "Of course."

"Alright- we can go in order. Here's the first one; it says not to go off on your own. That means not to just take off places without one of us, or without letting me know first. You can still be alone, I just don't want you to, say, go on a random road trip to California all by yourself."

Charlotte giggled, snuggling deeper into Peter's arms and waiting patiently for the next rule. "Okay, so the second rule says not to talk to or be alone with men unless I've given you permission. Jacob, Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett are all perfectly fine. But for other guys, just ask me first, okay? And this rule only applies if you do it freely. So if you're, like, kidnapped, then that's not breaking the rules. But I would never let that happen, sweetie, so don't worry about it, okay?" Charlotte nodded. "Okay. I get it. What's rule number three?"

"Number three is to have dinner ready by six o'clock. Unless you're sick or hurt, or we're going out to eat, or I specifically tell you not to worry about it, then that's when dinner should be ready. And you don't have to serve dinner, just cook it. You eat with me." Charlotte's grin widened. "Number four is simple: take care of yourself. I want you to shower, get a little exercise in if you're up to it, eat at least two meals a day. It shouldn't be a hard rule to follow."

Peter smiled down at Charlotte; it seemed that Jasper was right about Charlotte needing rules. She was so happy to get them; he wished he'd known she wanted them earlier. "Okay, so five is pretty much what you already do. When I tell you to do something, you need to do it, and right away. But, remember, Charlotte," he flipped her around so she could see his face. "Remember that rule number five only applies to me. I don't care who else it is that tells you to do something- if you don't want to, then you don't have to. Ever. Do you understand?"

Charlotte smiled and laughed, the sound very much like bells. She darted up to his face and placed a light kiss on his lips, her face full of happiness. "Yes. Yes, I do. Oh Peter, thank you so much for this!" Peter chuckled as she buried her face in his chest, gripping him tightly. "Oh, Peter," she mumbled, "I love you so much." Peter smiled softly and started to rub her back. "I love you, too, darling. Always."

Suddenly, Emmett burst through the front door, laughing uproariously, holding a hot pink, high-heeled shoe above his head. "Break it up, lovebirds, and make way for the official king of capture the flag!" Emmett paused for a second. "Or Alice's shoe, actually. But still!" Charlotte burst out laughing, true amusement shining in her eyes, and not a trace of fear. "Good job, Emmett." Emmett grinned, still clutching the shoe in his hands, and turned to Peter. "Everyone's coming in now. Is that cool?"

Peter nodded, and instantly the remaining members of the Cullen family fell through the front door, laughing and pushing at each other. Charlotte felt herself give a little gasp at the combined beauty of the family; she knew she should probably be used to it by now, but she had never really seen them all together. It was a bit overwhelming. Peter turned to look at her, a worried expression on his face, but Charlotte shook her head. "I'm fine."

Smiling, Peter helped her up out of the chair, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Hey everyone." Esme, positively glowing, wrapped Charlotte in a hug. "How are you feeling, dear? Did things go okay?" Charlotte grinned, clutching the rules to her chest. "Things are wonderful, Esme, just wonderful." A tinge of sadness flashed across Peter's face, but it was quickly replaced by happiness. He didn't want to give Charlotte rules, he really didn't. But it just made her so happy… Peter was defenseless against the joy of his imprint. He bent down and pressed a kiss on the top of her head as the Cullens crowded around her.

Alice pushed through to Charlotte, separating her and Peter from the crowd. "Alright everyone, enough of that. Go clean up. And Emmett, give me back my shoe." Emmett pouted, but handed his trophy over after Rosalie whispered something in his ear. Chuckling, Alice accepted the shoe Emmett thrust at her, slipping it onto her foot. Emmett swung Rosalie into his arms, running her up the stairs. "Come on, baby. Let's celebrate."

Edward and Bella floated out of the room soon after, followed by Jake and Nessie. Jasper and Alice, however, as well as Carlisle and Esme, stayed. Peter watched as Carlisle directed a significant glance at Alice, who sighed. "Esme, Charlotte, let's go make some lunch. I'm sure Peter is getting hungry." Charlotte immediately took off running towards the kitchen, Alice and Esme right behind her. Peter started to follow, but Jasper held out a hand to stop him. "Carlisle wants to talk to you about something."

Peter nodded. "Charlotte, darling, I'll be there in just a couple minutes," he called. Jasper looked at Carlisle, who gave a curt nod. Silently, Jasper slunk into the kitchen to meet up with his wife. Carlisle sat down on the couch, gesturing at the chair in front of him. Peter sat down. "Peter," Carlisle began. "You know that there are no secrets in this family. Between the gifts of Alice, Jasper, and Edward, it simply isn't feasible." Peter murmured his understanding. "Then you should also be aware that I know about these… rules."

Peter nodded, and Carlisle leaned in, staring intently at Peter. "Are you sure this is the best thing for her? Jasper seems to think so, but you know her better than any of us." Smiling sadly, Peter met Carlisle's gaze. "Too sure. When I gave her the rules… she was so excited. I wish… I wish it wasn't like this, you know? But the panic attacks have got to stop, and if this is the only way… It pains me to order her around. But I'm not the one that matters here, Carlisle. She's my whole life. You know?"

Carlisle relaxed, and agreed. "I know what you mean, Peter. It's just… I can't help but worry you're taking advantage of her, perhaps without even knowing it. I worry about Charlotte- she's so obviously incapable of taking care of herself." The sad smile returned to Peter's face. "And I know what you mean, Carlisle. Sometimes I wonder the same thing myself. But despite what Charlotte thinks, I don't know everything. None of us do. I'm just playing it by ear and hoping things work out. And eventually, we are going to be able to move, and when we do Charlotte is going to have a therapist. I'll come with her if I have to. But she's going to get help."

Carlisle smiled at Peter and stood up. Clapping an arm around Peter, he patted him on the back. "I trust you, Peter, and so does she." He sighed. "I suppose you should go into the kitchen and rescue her now." Peter laughed. "I probably should. Thanks, Carlisle." Carlisle smiled at Peter, then drifted upstairs, probably to his study. Peter headed for the kitchen.

The moment he entered the kitchen, Charlotte came running into his arms. "Peter! What do you want to eat? I was going to make soup, but then we were all out of carrots, and I simply cannot make any of your favorite soups without carrots, and besides, soup takes a long time to make, so then I thought about maybe-" Peter cut her off by picking her up and planting a kiss on her lips. "Have I mentioned lately that I love you? And I'm thinking that grilled cheese for lunch sounds good."

Charlotte giggled. "Okay, Peter. And I love you too." Peter smiled down at her, then looked around the kitchen to realize that suddenly they were alone. Smiling, Peter helped his imprint with lunch. As he got a pan out for Charlotte, he had a sudden sureness that getting in the car would no longer be a problem for him. Nothing could be, not when he had Charlotte with him. Setting the pan down, he turned to face her. "I mean it, Charlotte. I really do. Always." She smiled and leaned into him. "Of course," she murmured. "Always."

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**AN: i'm not gonna lie, it took me a while to figure out how to end it. that's why it took nearly a week to get this up. anyways, i hope you liked it! :]**

**Clarissa. **


	16. Epilogue

**AN: here it is, people. the epilogue. i took my time getting this out, because i wanted to give the idea of a sequel some serious thought. but the truth is, i couldn't think of a decent plot for it- not at all. i'm going to have to admit that i've grown rather attached to these characters though. perhaps an outtake is in store. but anywho, a sequel just isn't going to happen. to try and make you feel better about that, i wrote an epilogue! i really hope you like it. let me know, people! and just so you know, i'll be popping out some new fic asap. i've got a fairly concrete idea. so if i can make it work, you'll be seeing more from me soon! **

**enjoy!**

**update 2/9/2010- my new story, Broken Glass, is out! give it a shot! :]  
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Peter opened the door cautiously, trying not to disturb the house with his entrance too much. Almost immediately, a loud, drawn out "Daddy!" came from across the house. So much for that plan. Chuckling, he shut and locked the door, turning around just in time to catch the blonde blur that had rushed at him. "Hey, sweetie pie. Where's Mommy?" Elizabeth clung to his neck as he lifted her up and dropped his keys on the table. "She's making dinner! We're gonna have soup! I love soup. Soup is the best. Every time we have soup, I get to use my _favorite _pink princess bowl. I watched a movie today about princesses! It was called Sleeping Beauty. It's my _favorite, _Daddy. I'm gonna watch it every single day until I'm old and all my hair falls out! I saw this lady at the grocery store…"

Holding back a laugh, Peter nodded along and made his way to the kitchen. It had been a long day at work. An apartment building had caught on fire, and by the time they'd gotten there, it was already structurally unstable. He hadn't been able to get up to the top floor in time to save the old lady who lived there. He had gotten her grandkid out, the one who lived with her; but that was just another child in the system. And if there was anything Peter didn't trust, it was the foster care system.

Finally, he reached the kitchen, coming face to face with his reason for living. Charlotte, his own personal sun. "Hey, you. Got any time for your favorite husband?" Smiling brightly, Charlotte turned around. Peter put Elizabeth down and wrapped Charlotte in his arms. "I love you." She sighed contently and burrowed deeper, being careful not to let the soup-covered spoon touch him. "I love you too. Always. I'm sorry you had a bad day at work." Peter peered down at her, bemused. "I didn't say I had a bad day at work." Charlotte smiled. "I can tell. Your eyes were tight at the corners. But not enough to say you were angry. So I figured you had a bad day."

Peter laughed, then nodded. "You're right, as always. My day was horrible. But," he murmured, kissing her nose, "now I'm home, and my day got a million times better when I walked into the kitchen." Charlotte's smile got impossibly wider, and she darted up for a kiss. "You're just trying to woo me and steal my soup." Peter snorted good-naturedly. "Of course I'm not. I don't have to steal it. You'll give it to me willingly when I'm through with you." The light heartedness gradually slipped out of the room and Peter set Charlotte on the counter, layering kisses down her neck and on her collarbone.

His hand slipped up her thigh, sending a shiver of pleasure through Charlotte. "You know," he murmured, his voice rough, "I have to admit I don't mind the dresses and skirts. I think you should tell your therapist that particular point isn't open," slipping her dress up farther, "to negotiation." Charlotte moaned softly, her fingers curling into Peter's hair. "I suppose…" She trailed off as his fingers roamed, struggling to keep her thoughts straight. "…that I could say that. If that's really what you think." Peter gave a mischievous chuckle, and then plucked Charlotte off the counter.

"Much as I would like to continue that right now, we've got Elizabeth to think of. Besides, you don't want the soup to burn." Charlotte pouted, reluctantly returning to the soup. "Charlotte…" The miserable tone of his voice made Charlotte whip around instantly, dropping the spoon to put both of her arms around him. "Tell me about it." Peter sighed, shaking his head. "There was a fire today, in an apartment building. I saved the kid, but I wasn't there in time to save the grandma. He doesn't have any other family… I just…"

Charlotte rubbed his back in a soothing motion. "Well, we're foster parents, aren't we? You can call up Nancy; she's the one who got us Elizabeth. Do you remember his name?" Peter cheered up a little. "Yeah. Jason Roberts. He's five. He spent the entire ride to the hospital telling me about the giant dragon that attacked his house."

"Well, I think it's high time Elizabeth got a friend. He's just a year older than her- they'll get along wonderfully. She'll have a big brother." Peter grinned. "Good idea. Why didn't I think of that? Don't answer that. It was rhetorical. Anyways, I'll make the call tonight. I needed to talk to her about finishing the adoption with Elizabeth anyway." Smiling, Charlotte leaned into Peter as she returned to stirring the soup. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Do you think they'll let us have him? We're awful young, compared to most foster parents. I mean, they might be afraid two kids is too much for a couple that hasn't even been married two years. Especially since we're just nineteen and twenty."

Peter shook his head. "You forget that we have the Cullens. If they give us trouble, we can always give Carlisle a call." Charlotte relaxed, reassured. "You're right. Of course." A loud beeping noise suddenly filled the room. Charlotte jumped, then laughed. "It's just the kitchen timer. The bread is ready. Dinner's in just a few minutes, Peter. You might want to go wash up."

Peter left the kitchen, and headed towards Elizabeth's room. She needed to wash her hands and he knew she'd be much more amenable to the idea if he did it with her. "Elizabeth, darling, it's time to wash our hands," he called. Elizabeth burst out of her room, something blue smeared all over her face. He laughed. "And our faces, as well." Grinning, Elizabeth reached for Peter's hand and walked to the bathroom with him. "You know," she confided, "I heard you and Mommy talking. And I want a big brother to play with too."

Peter smiled down at her. He picked her up so she could reach the sink without having to use her stepstool. "I was wondering what you'd think about that. Well, Mommy and I are going to work on getting you a big brother. His name is Jason. And you know," he whispered conspiratorially, "I bet Jason likes princesses too." Elizabeth beamed, clapping her soapy hands together. "Do you really think so?" she asked excitedly. Struggling to keep a serious face, Peter nodded. "Of course."

Giggling, Elizabeth attempted to rinse her hands by herself. Shutting off the water just a tad bit too enthusiastically, she tipped backwards, almost falling off the stool. Peter caught her and planted her firmly on the ground. "There you go, sweetie. Now let's go get some grub!" Elizabeth squealed delightedly. "Grub!" Peter rolled his eyes at his soon-to-be-adopted daughter's antics, and followed her pattering footsteps into the dining room.

He stepped into the room just as Charlotte was setting the bread on the table. The drinks were set, but the bowls were still in the kitchen. Seeing him, Charlotte's eyes widened and she dashed into the kitchen. Peter followed, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Calm, love," he reminded her. "Besides, it's not even six yet. You're fine." He gestured towards the clock, where sure enough, he saw it was just five before six. Placing a light kiss on the top of her head, he scooped up the two remaining bowls. One was a sensible dark blue, fairly small. The other was bright pink plastic, the Disney princesses circling the sides.

Peter laughed at the sheer absurdity of Elizabeth's bowl. When he set it down in front of her, she launched into some long spiel about the movie she'd watched that day. Peter looked at Charlotte, who groaned theatrically. "We watched it not once, not twice, but _five times_ today." Peter chuckled. "Sounds just thrilling. I'm betting that it's your new favorite movie as well, right?" Charlotte pretended to glare at him. "You think you're real funny, don't you?"

Peter ruffled her hair as he moved past her. Sitting down in his spot, he eyed the steaming bowl of soup hungrily. Elizabeth did the same thing, but then reached for her spoon. Peter raised an eyebrow at her and she drew her hand back guiltily. "Not quite yet, little one. Do you want to say grace?" Elizabeth nodded rapidly, then bowed her head and closed her eyes. Peter had to admit- he'd never envisioned himself as a Christian. As a believer of anything, really. But Carlisle had such faith, and Charlotte had soaked it right up. Peter, of course, hadn't been far behind her. If werewolves and vampires could be real, why not God?

Elizabeth attacked her soup, going at it with a purple plastic spoon that she had found in a box of cereal. She hadn't used a regular spoon since. Peter found it rather amusing. As he savored Charlotte's cooking, Peter reflected on how far they'd come. It had been a little over three years since his first transformation and their escape from the hellhole that was Jack's house. They'd moved not long after the Rules were introduced, and Carlisle, true to his word, had made them new people. A therapist had been found for Charlotte, and they'd both graduated from high school.

Peter hadn't bothered with college, because Charlotte didn't want to and he wasn't going without her. Instead, he'd decided to become a firefighter. He loved it. He'd proposed to Charlotte a month after they graduated, and they had gotten married in September of the same year. A soft smile on his face, Peter moved his gaze to rest on Charlotte's face. He knew that her therapist thought she'd rushed into life, was trying to grow up to quickly. But the truth was, they'd been forced to grow up long before Charlotte started her sessions. Jack had made sure of that.

Under the table, Charlotte's hand slipped into his. "I love you," she mouthed. "Always," he mouthed back. Suddenly, Elizabeth managed to fall out of her chair. As Peter rushed to help her up, he realized something. Charlotte might not be completely healed yet. Might not ever be. But one day, the fear and terror Jack had left her with would be nothing but forgotten dreams.

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**AN: i just want to give a big thank you to all my readers. i'm really glad you took the time to read my story, and even stick with it. and i want to give an even bigger thank you to those of you who reviewed. the reviews were all helpful, inspiring, and uplifting. thank you so much for spending that extra little effort to let me know what you thought. **

**now, wasn't that a lovely little HEA? i mean, it wasn't breaking dawn. not every little thing is tied up neatly with a bow on it. but most things are! i wanted to make it so that readers felt like they didn't have to really wonder what happened in the end. **

**goodbye, Forgotten Dreams! i'll miss you... **

**until next time,**

**Clarissa. **


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